Kaiju BakuSenshi
by Deadly28
Summary: Arc 3: Where killer cyborgs fail, will alien nomads succeed? They're coming to destroy Earth ... Rated T for language and violence.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this preview.

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><p>The year is 2020 Common Empire. The place is Tokyo City [ 東京 ], Japan [ 日本 ].<p>

If someone happened to pick up a radiation-measurement device - for example one of the newer Hakkounters - and did a radiation check _anywhere _in Tokyo, there was an approximate 84.697% chance of the device going haywire. There was 14.6 - forget the decimals, there was a 15% chanceit would overheat trying to calculate the radiation level. And there was about a 0.98% chance the device would explode like a firecracker.  
>The reason for this was simple.<p>

They were called [ 大怪獣 ] sometimes, the prefix _dai-_ affixed to their class. It literally meant _strange creature_, _unkown creature_. Westerners believed they were monsters. All these words meant only one thing.

[ 怪獣 ]

Kaiju.

These titans, for lack of a better word, rampaged worldwide. In Beijing, [ キングシーサー ]. King Caesar, it was called, pronounced 'Shee-sa'. The lion/dog humanoid destroyed the 2008 Olympics stadium, the Bird's Nest, and brought down hundreds of skyscrapers before racing at huge speeds to the sea where it appeared to vanish underwater.

In Paris, it was the garguantan mantis [ カマキラス ] Kamacuras, who slashed it way through the suburbs and nearly reached the Eiffel Tower before collapsing when a swarm of unmanned drones collided into it.

[ エビラ ], more commonly known as Ebirah, the titanic shrimp - yes, shrimp - crawled out of the sea and began demolishing Sydney and nearly brought down the Opera House with his pincers, although it retreated into the ocean within 72 hours.

Mayhem and panic was on the mind of everyone in Arizona when the huge tarantula [ クモンガ ] or Kumonga first appeared, barreling through a trailer park and smashing people with its eight, ten-metre long legs. It finally burrowed deep into the earth, appearing to hibernate.

All these monsters were referred to as 'it' as there was no obvious way of discerning their gender. However, there was one monsters whose name was synonymous with 'chaos' and 'fear' who was given a moniker relating to _his_ gender. Tokyo had seen the wrath of this so-called '_King of Monsters_' and almost all Tokyo dwellers agreed that this kaiju was truly a monarch of demons, a regal agent of destruction. Thus was this _King of Monsters_ given a fitting name. No one knew for sure how it came to be, but it was most probably a combination of [ ゴリラ ], which meant _gorilla_, and [ クジラ ], the English _whale_.

**[ ゴジラ ] **was the _King of Monsters_. But most everyone just called him **_Godzilla_**.


	2. Our Heroes

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

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><p>From above, the isle was just ... normal. Star-shaped and covered with lush and verdant greenery, it looked quite peaceful. Even the cave in the centre, although topped with sinister spine-like rocks that jutted out of it, managed to fit into the image of peace.<p>

Then why, he wondered, did he feel so much ... foreboding?

His view shifted and he was not above any more, but _on _the island. This had never happened before - usually he floated down above the cave and ... and ... the thought troubled him. He expelled it from mind and walked slowly, over vines and creepers, past trees almost fifteen metres tall. Finally, it came into view, the thing he was looking for. The cave. Usually it ended when he saw the cave but there had already been an anomaly. Why not another? Sure enough, he was still on the island.

He looked carefully, trying to commit the cave's appearance to memory. The telltale cracked, moss-encrusted floor, the reddish-brown sand at the fore, and the crystalline stalagmites that rose up forming a row at the cave's mouth.

The cave's mouth. Why not? It could be a monster with crystal fangs and the spiny rocks above, dorsal fins. The image of a humungous fishlike creature with hard scales appeared in his head. Perhaps an unseen-until-now kaiju. Again, he quashed his thoughts and continued, walking slowly to the cave's entrance.

Again his view changed. It was still the same place, but he didn't feel as if he was experiencing it for himself this time. More like it was ... conveyed. Through a movie projector. He heard a low growl. Again it was as if it had been pre-recorded and was being played on cue. This feeling did nothing to lessen the sudden panic he felt

Something was in the cave!

Something LIVING!

If something lived in the cave it would surely explain the reason he felt the foreboding. _Especially_ if it was ... kaiju.

He saw something stir. Something move. He quickly drew back although in the back of his mind, somewhere, something told him it would be all right, nothing would come out, nothing would attack him...

Of course he was proved wrong.

A roar rushed through the cave, slamming into him, a regal howl...

**_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH !_**

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><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter One**-

私たちの英雄 Our Heroes

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><p><em>Tokyo International Airport Waiting room.<em>

_2025._

The boy's scream annoyed several of those waiting for the plane. One old woman called, "Sssssh!"

The boy grinned sheepishly, before settling back into his seat. He was 13, and his name was Suzuka Ryo [ 鈴鹿亮 ].

"The same one?" Suzuka Kazu asked darkly. He knew the answer.

"Yeah, _Otousan_, but this time...It was worse, the thing roared and came out. I saw its shadow!"

Kazu patted Ryo's head affectionately. "Don't worry, kid, they'll stop."

"You don't understand, Otousan, the monster...it was...I think it was kaiju but..." Ryo stopped. "I...I can't remember anything now. Just that there was a star-shaped island with a thick jungle and a cave with a monster in it. And it roared." Suddenly, his face darkened. "_Otousan_...I remember something else now.

"There was more than one monster.

_Too much tokusatsu_, Kazu thought, but refrained from saying it.

Ryo was disturbed. The dark haired teen was normally friendly and mild-mannered. However, the dreams were causing him severe anxiety, and he was unable to write them off as _just_ dreams. They had been occurring on and off for three months and began at the same time the first kaiju attack. And always, every night before or during a kaiju attack - he would find himself awake, remembering the dream in a cold sweat. These lead him to believe, secretly, and, perhaps truly, that these were no ordinary dreams. They were _premonitions_.

Checking his watch, Kazu interrupted Ryo's brooding. "All right, come on. We need to pick up Yamato now. And Sakura should have picked up her cousin by now, _hai_?"

"Yes, in fact, I think she said she'll call me." Right on cue, Ryo's black cellphone - a Nokia E72 - began to ring. He picked it up and answered it. "Hello? Sakura, hi! Okay, you're ready right? _Hai_- the plane has landed? _Hai_. OK, bye."

Ryo hung up and explained, "She picked her cousin up and Yamato too. They're waiting outside."

They reached the carpark, and found three kids and four suitcases waiting outside Kazu's silver Pontiac Solstice.

"Sakura!" Ryo greeted with a smile, squeezing the hand of a black-haired Japanese girl. Laughingly, Sakura Motomiya [ 本宮さくら ] replied, "You act as if you haven't seen me in school at all!"

Ryo smiled back. "Well, I haven't really. I was studying for exams until April and then they shut the school down because," his smile vanished and he grew sombre, "of the attacks."

Sakura gave him a sympathetic look. She and Kazu - and maybe Yamato - were the only ones who really understood why he hated kaiju so much. The _why_ was simple, childishly so, for Yamato and Kazu - they were family after all - but Sakura?

She and him shared a huge bond from the time of their first meeting nearly seven years ago. They knew they would be BFFs from that time onwards - and it was true. They were always there for each other despite their clashing personalities and backgrounds which were worlds apart.

Sakura - she was always a _just do it_ sort of person with a rebellious streak. She always squeezed out as much happiness as she could from the present, just so that she never had to look back. Her family was unsupportive and didn't care much about her - if they _did_ care about her at all. They didn't even feel anger or sadness or even shame when she decided to streak her hair every few months, ranging from cyan (which it was now) to fluoroscent orange (sixth grade) to grey (planned to be this Christmas). Ryo - he was the level-headed figure of calm who managed to keep her grounded at almost all times - even he had his limits. He looked upon his past all the time, regretting his choice of words and dwelling upon, almost obsessively sometimes, his actions and what would have happened if he had chosen to do something else.

"Um, I think I'd better go rescue _Otousan_ from Yamato," Ryo said, referring to Kazu's predicament - Yamato had engulfed him in a bearhug and was refusing to let go. Sakura nodded and Ryo hurried over. His brother often vented his feelings, positive or negative, in a physical and verbal outburst. In this case, Yamato had obviously enjoyed his trip to New York. Ryo reflected on how long his brother's dark brown hair had grown and the dark streak of black across the front made him smile inwardly. _Maybe he just wants to look more like me._ Yamato had as much in common with Kazu as Ryo and the three looked exactly like each other. However, Yamato carried their mother's brown hair and eyes and not Kazu's jet-black hair and blue-grey eyes that came from his Korean grandmother.

_Okaa-san...I miss you so much._

Pushing aside all thoughts of his mother as he had done before in his dream, Ryo said "Hi, Yamato!"

"Ryo_-kun_, how's it going? I hear you came just because your girlfriend came to pick up her kid cousin?" Yamato teased.

"Shut up Yamato, Sakura's not my girlfriend, just my best friend," Ryo replied hotly, changing from playfully welcoming to argumentative in seconds.

"Thanks," Sakura interjected. "Now shut up talking about me as if I'm not hearing every word you say!"

Everyone laughed except the other boy. "What's so funny?" he queried to himself in an inaudible voice. All four turned to him.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," Yamato said.

"Nothing," he replied, leaning against the Pontiac's front door. He had an athlete's build and his face was framed with spiky, gelled up black hair. His ears were pierced and his eyes - they appeared to have contact lenses over them - were bright violet. He was dressed in black leather all over and even though he looked barely an year older than Sakura or Ryo, his forearms were tattooed. There was a Chinese dragon over his left forearm, its tail winding around his wrist and ending at his palm, its head ending at his forearm's elbow joint. On his right, two large Chinese characters - the exact glyphs were 伟大 - were surrounded by a ring of one word, repeated endlessly - the meaning -_ greatness_.

"Two things. First, who are you?" Ryo asked. "And second, are those real tattooes?"

"Yes, they are." The boy answered the second question.

"My first question?"

The boy nodded to Sakura, who answered for him. "My cousin Akane Reikido from Hokkaido. At least that's who I think he is." She adressed Akane Reikido [ あかね ], "Rei, is that even you? I thought you were a pimply ten year old who needed his diaper changed every ten minutes. That's the impression you gave me last time four years back. And now you're a sixteen year old punk - all pun intended."

Rei wore the barest hint of a smile.

"Break it up, kids, let's go," Kazu said.

"I thought the only reason my mom gave me a thousand Yen was for a taxi. Oh well, great, more pocket money for me," Sakura said.

"Carpooling helps the environment, and besides, I want to show off my new Pontiac," Kazu said matter-of-factly, causing everyone to laugh."OK, jokes aside. Let's go."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>If you noticed similarities between this fanfiction and one on RangerBoard last year, I am the same person (GForce) as the one who wrote the RB fanfic. Certain parts are copied straight off and this entire fanfic is based on that one (Kaiju BakuDan). And PS: I know Sakura is fairly, OK, extremely common - more than 70% of fanfics with Japanese girls use that name - but that was her original name and I have a preference to it, so no changes. A thousand Yen is roughly 9-13 dollars, I'm not sure. 90 Yen is a dollar, you do the math.


	3. Kaiju Attack!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

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><p><em>Recap - A mysterious dream involving a strange star-shaped island and a cave has been plaguing Suzuka Ryo, who awakens to the feeling that these recurring dreams are in fact<em> premonitions_. Ryo and his father Kazu pick up Ryo's 17-year-old brother Yamato and meet up with Ryo's best friend Motomiya Sakura and her cousin Akane Rei. Kazu offers to drop Sakura and Rei home and they accept. _

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><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Two**-

怪獣攻撃 Kaiju Attack!

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><p><em>Tokyo International Airport parking lot.<br>_

_2025._

Kazu pulled out the key to the car and turned the key in the door handle. However, he was startled when screams rang out from the side of the Tokyo IA. The five looked around simultaneously - screaming men and women formed a horde rushing away from something in terror.

"Is it just Japan or do has the temperature gone _way_ up?" Yamato asked. "And what are they running from?"

A high, roaring cackle of a screech was heard and the screams increased in volume and intensity.

Everyone paled at the sound of the howl. "Forget I asked," Yamato muttered.

"Maybe we should too," Sakura suggested.

"Why run," Kazu began, twisting the key in the door, "...when you can drive."

"Good idea_, Otousan_," Ryo said, giving his father a pat on the back and climbing into the back seat, where Rei and Sakura were already waiting. Yamato hoisted himself into the front passenger seat alongside Kazu.

"Suzuka-_san_, step on it!" Sakura said in fear as another cackling howl was heard.

"Just a minute, just a minute..." Kazu pulled the gear to _D_ and slammed down the clutch. "OK, we're out of here! _Sayonara_ airport!"

Kazu drove recklessly past a row of cars. All at once a blast of heat engulfed the parking lot and a bolt of crackling golden lightning struck the cars at the far end, transforming them into piles of burnt metal and cracked glass within seconds.

"CRAP!" Kazu swore loudly as a lightning blast smashed into a car a few metres away from the Pontiac.

"TREMBLE IN FEAR _NINGEN_! THIS IS THE TRUE WRATH OF KAIJU!" The same roar sounded, but it was less of a scream. The words were rough and mercilessly tore through the air like a leopard's sawing growl.

"What unholy person could do this?" whispered Sakura upon hearing the words.

Ryo spoke abruptly, feeling his hair stand on end. "It's not a person.

"It's a kaiju."

"How do you know?" demanded Yamato.

"I...I _just know_, it's a feeling. Sort of like how you know you're going to have a bad day, no matter what."

"Too vague," pressed Yamato. "_How_, Ryo, how?"

Ryo began to speak but suddenly gazed upwards. "It's here. The kaiju. It's _him..._it has to be..." His eyes frantically searched the sky until with a low moan of "It's _him_, I know it is...", he slumped back and passed out on the seat.

"_RYO!_"

Rei was the only one not to shout the boy's name.

"I hate to break it to you _now_, at such a touching moment," the boy from Hokkaido interjected, still using a monotonous voice, "but he's right. Look." All eyes switched to where he pointed upwards to the point Ryo had looked at last.

A reptilian being - a kaiju - was climbing the side of the ruined Tokyo IA. It looked suspiciously like St. George's dragon of lore, complete with golden scales and fearsome fangs - but much worse. This entity had not one or even two, but _three _heads. Its tail resembled a serpent, with darkened scales for eyes. The tip knifed out and forked exactly like a snake's tongue.

"Crap! What on earth is that? I've never seen that kaiju!" Sakura asked, trembling as it slashed the building and unleashed more lightning bolts on the cars nearby, all the while cackling, "_Ningen_, this is what you get for attacking our brethren!"

One man in a uniform, bravely standing up, screamed up to the monster with a megaphone, "Kaiju! Cease your attack upon this building or I, Lieutenant-General Hiroyama Kosuke of the GDF, will be forced to order your execution by aerial assault!"

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><p>Lt.-General Hiroyama Kosuke [ 廣山祐 ] of the Global Defense Force seemed to be an average man at first. Immaculate black suit, carefully brushed back salt-and-pepper hair, perfectly trimmed grey moustache. Sure, he was tall - 6' 5'', 6' 6''. That would seem to be the only abnormal thing about him. Next you might notice the lightweight bio-mechanic prosthetic lower legs. But his coworkers - especially his secretary and immediate superiors - soon noticed his peculiar habits - and having a personal assistant for making him green tea was the least of it.<p>

Hiroyama had a habit of scratching at the deep scar, gouged across his left cheeck in the shape of a rough crescent many years ago. He would insist he got the scar and lost his legs in an assasination attempt made upon him a few months before the kaiju attacks and it had been covered up. However, there were more holes in the story than in a platter of Swiss cheese, as anyone would have noticed if they cared to study his story well enough. He had hired seven bodyguards led by the eighth, Tachibana Daisuke [ 立花大輔 ] , dubbed the 'Silent Men' by newspapers as they tended to speak for Hiroyama and his actions and nearly always gave only one answer: "No comment". Hiroyama, liking the name , selected it as their official name. There was only one more of his abnormalities: he was ever-determined to kill _each and every one _of the kaiju, whether they were beasts, women or children. Hiroyama always called kaiju 'abominations'. His huge hatred of the freaks of nature was well hidden, but sometimes his facade slipped and he laughed it off, saying he merely hated them for ruining his 'beatiful Earth'. But the truth about the mutilated man was much, _much_ darker.

Hiroyama had been at the airport to greet Senator Lucio Bellucci, an Italian politician, along with the Silent Men, when the monster-dragon attacked. Immediately, Tachibana had hustled Hiroyama out. The only thing Tachibana had told Hiroyama was "Belluci is dead, Hiroyama-_sama_." Hiroyama ordered Tachibana, "Give me a megaphone." Tachibana procured one from one of the Silent Men and Hiroyama roared out his words.

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><p>"<em>Kehehehe<em>...you think I will stand and wait for your useless mosquitoes-with-blades!" growled the kaiju derisively, referring to the helicopters that had already begun to assemble. "_I_, the great Grand King Ghidorah! I will not cease! Destoroya!"

A second kaiju appeared suddenly, as if from nowhere, racing at the helicopters and razing through them with three-clawed hands. The kaiju, Destoroya, resembled a humanoid komodo dragon upon four legs _and_ two arms with aforementioned claws. A large floral pattern, clashing wildly with his reptilian, demonic appearance, was engraved across his chest like a scar. His tail extended into yet another hand with three pincer-like claws. Four large, bony bat-wings exploded from his side, with thin red membrane covering his wings. A blood red horn, nearly a metre long, thrust out from the top of his head.

"Ghidorah-_sama_!" Destoroya saluted Grand King Ghidorah as he landed on the roof of the ruined airport, causing further bits to crumble down. "You called?"

"Destoroya! Teach these _ningen_ a lesson and then withdraw with me!" Ghidorah ordered, spreading out two large golden wings and taking flight...

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> In case you're wondering the Japanese kanji in the title translate to the English name of the chapter. Here, 'Kaiju Attack'='Kaiju Kogeki'. Use Google Translate to figure out what the others are - it usually ends up saying 'monster' for kaiju. The Ghidorah here is a composite of many of Ghidorah's forms, and is named 'Grand King Ghidorah' due to this. For Ghidorah's roar go to "youtube*.com/watch?v=1G4WXLCDcSc&feature=related" . For Destoroya's roar go to "youtube*.com/watch?v=iRWZcVIvvCg ". Remove the asterisks after 'youtube'. Destoroya is the spelling I'm going with - I like it better without the 'h' at the end. In the end I was down to 'Destroya' or 'Destoroya' and the former just didn't seem right. Yes, all the other monsters mentioned in the prologue will appear eventually and yes, all kaiju can talk - they just don't speak to humans that much. (`) and (`) will be used instead of (") for marking speech when kaiju speak to each other, e.g: _`This is a test__`, Ghidorah said. _You know, I always thought kaiju spoke in movies - I only learnt that they didn't use languages a couple of years ago. For the previous chapter and this one, a Japanese dictionary.

_ _hai_ _- yes _  
>kun<em> - sometimes suffixed to names when a senior speaks to his junior. Also used by anyone when speaking to male children/teens.  
><em>ningen<em> - humans  
><em>Okaasan<em> - mother_  
>Otousan<em> - father  
><em>sama<em> - suffixed to show great respect, similar to 'Sir' or 'Master' in the West  
><em>san<em> - suffixed to show respect. "Mr Smith"="Smith-_san_"_  
>sayonara<em> - goodbye_  
>shimatta<em> - a swear word equivalent to 'damn it'_  
>tokusatsu<em> - Japanese TV shows like Ultraman and Super Sentai


	4. A Mysterious Voice

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

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><p><em>Recap - As Ryo-<em>tachi_* made their way away, a giant dragon kaiju, Grand King Ghidorah, and a winged reptilian kaiju, Destoroya, attacked the airport! Devastating the area with lightning bolts, Ghidorah sent hordes of people running in fear. One man, Lt.-General Hiroyama of the Earth Defense Force, bravely stood upto Ghidorah, but merely incurred Destoroya's wrath...  
><em>

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><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Three**-

謎の声 A Mysterious Voice

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><p><em>Tokyo International Airport parking lot.<br>_

_2025._

"Destoroya! Teach these ningen a lesson and then withdraw with me!"

Ghidorah's unearthly roar brought Ryo back to consciousness. "Urgh...What happened?" he slurred, lifting his head weakly. "And who are those kaiju?"

"The chicken-lizard calls himself Grand King Ghidorah and bone head is Destoroya," Sakura explained succintly.

"Ghi...Ghidorah?" Ryo looked up. Ghidorah, perched on the building, let loose another lightning bolt, smashing into the ground and creating a huge ten-foot-deep crater a few metres away from Hiroyama, who was pulled away by two men in black suits seconds later.

Destoroya roared in triumph, as a long sword-like beam burst from his horn and sliced apart more helicopters and cars. `Ghidorah-_sama_, I sense something!` he suddenly growled, turning to Ghidorah.

`You too Destoroya? I felt something - many auras of great magnitude emanating from this lowly place.`The two were communicating in low roars, growls and gestures now, not using human languages.

"Are they ... talking?" Kazu murmured.

"Possibly," Rei said smoothly, picking at a stray strand of gelled hair.

Ghidorah stiffened slowly. `I believe I know what these auras are...` With a slight sniff at the air, Ghidorah spread his wings and uttered a loud scream from all three maws. `BakuSenshi!`

`BakuSenshi? Here of all places?` Destoroya roared in surprise. Ghidorah curled his left head and lowered his middle one. `Yes! It is too risky for me to continue attacking! Destoroya, enjoy yourself a bit more and then we shall retreat.`

"That is acceptable, Ghidorah-_sama_." Destoroya resumed speaking in words the humans could understand, and suddenly released his horn's beam/sword again, chopping a row of cars neatly in half.

"Were they speaking in some sort of exclusive kaiju language?" Yamato wondered.

Destoroya roared with malice, spreading chaos with his wandering beam/sword and slashing claws. "_GRRRRAAAH!_" All of a sudden he returned to the 'kaiju dialect'. `Ghidorah-_sama_! Is it time already?` he growled, disappointed, as he reached up and shoved a burning helicopter to the ground.

`Yes! Withdraw!` Ghidorah roared, unfolding his wings. Smoke burst from Destoroya's mouth as he literally _swallowed_ the flaming helicopter! `DESTOROYA! WITHDRAW! I COMMAND IT!`

`A little more panic, please Ghidorah-_sama_...`Destoroya seemed to plead as he chewed wildly on the helicopter blades, paying no heed to the screams of the men inside. "Yes, little _ningen_, scream in fear!"

"_Destoroya_." Ghidorah took on a menacing tone. "I shall be forced to kill you if you continue disobeying me."

Destoroya immediately spat out the helicopter's remains, crushing the man with his claws. Blood leaked out onto the reptilian's palm. "Of course Ghidorah-_sama_. I meant no disrespect. Just a little take-away for the road..."

Ghidorah snorted, a stream of smoke drifting from his nostrils. "If you must."

Destoroya leaned over. His beady eyes searched the ruined arport, roved the parking lot...

...and fell upon the Pontiac. "Perfect!"

"If you must, take _only_ two," warned Ghidorah.

"_Hai_." Destoroya ripped out the car's roof. Terror-struck, Sakura and Ryo cowered, leaning against the seat, hoping against hope that Destoroya would leave immediately with Ghidorah...

"**Begone foul kaiju!**"

A noble, dignified voice rang from nowhere. It wasn't Hiroyama again - the voice seemed to echo from nowhere. Ghidorah let out a deep hiss. "It is _him_. Destoroya! COME NOW!"

Destoroya reached into the car...

...

...

...and snatched Kazu and Rei.

Rei made no attempt to struggle, unlike Kazu who furiously tried to escape. But he stopped within a few seconds, knowing it was hopeless.

"_Otousan_," Yamato and Ryo whispered together, united in grief. A teardrop fell from Sakura's eyes.

Ghidorah began to glow golden, and Destoroya, red. Both kaiju dissolved into large portals, vortexes that seemed to twist space itself, distorting the area around the two like pebbes in a rippling pond.

"**Come with me...**"

The echoing voice sounded again, and this time it was soothing and quiet. Quiet. As if only three certain children could hear it, as if only they were _meant_ to hear it...

Those three children vanished, seeming to haze into nothingness.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> *_Tachi_ is suffixed to some words to pluralize them, examples are: _Watashi_=me, _watashi-tachi_=us. It can be suffixed to a proper noun to give the meaning "... & the others". Ryo-_tachi_=Ryo and the others. And if you're wondering, Ghidorah usually speaks with his middle head.


	5. Arrival Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

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><p><em>Recap - <em>_Destoroya begins terrorizing the airport on Ghidorah's orders, destroying the GDF's helicopters. Ghidorah and Destoroya sense mysterious auras and lessen their forceful assault when a loud voice rings out commanding them to stop. The kaiju retreat into vortexes, but not before snatching away Rei and Kazu...  
><em>

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><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Four**-

到着！モンスター島とばくせんし の秘密 Arrival! Monster Island and the Secret of the BakuSenshi

(Part One)

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><p><em>Unidentified location.<br>_

_2025._

Yamato was the first to wake. He looked around, spotting Sakura and Ryo lying on the sandy beach, both of them still asleep. He walked over to them, making sure they were all right. Nothing seemed amiss, so he squinted against the bright sun and looked around.

The trio of children were on an island. Sandy beaches covered the coast, and waves gently lapped up to the shore. Schools of silvery fish glimmered in the distance under the glow of the sun. Behind them, a wide expanse of tropical forest reached out, enclosing the interior. The coast was jagged, in a peculiar way. It would curve gently out, ending in a wide tip, then curve slowly back in.

If seen from above, the island might have looked like a star.

* * *

><p>Ryo roused himself last. He found Yamato and Sakura in the water. Yamato appeared to have stripped to his boxers and was washing himself, while Sakura, sitting on a pile of sand, was skipping rocks.<p>

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing much. Except someone pulled us through miles of sea to an island in the middle of nowhere," Yamato shouted back cynically.

Ryo managed a grin, but pulled it back a few seconds later. This was no laughing matter. They were stranded on, as Yamato had put it, 'an island in the middle of nowhere '. He looked around, examining the coast and caught his breath when he came to the conclusion Yamato did.

"I've been here," he said, wading out to join his brother. "In a dream, actually. Always in dreams."

Yamato looked at him with ill-concealed surprise. "You too?"

"What do you mean, 'you too'? You've been having dreams, too?"

"Your girlfriend too, apparently. According to her, she sees a giant -"

"I thought we discussed our relationship?" Sakura interrupted loudly. "Anyway, what I see is a giant sea monster, like a dinosaur, throw a, a humungous spider, like a giant tarantula into the sea. Then the sea monster ... sort of sees me. Looks at me. And I wake up."

Yamato continued. "Well, I se a swarm of car-sized dragonflies attack this huge, levitating robot with a fin on his head. The 'bot starts spinning and makes this tornado shield thing. The dragonflies all group up and make a giant dragonfly kaiju and this one gives the 'bot a huge whack. The 'bot is cracking up - breaking, I mean - and breathes a huge stream of fire onto the dragonfly. The flaming dragonfly dives on the 'bot and he dies. Except before he dies, the robot seems to give me a look. Then I wake up."

Ryo hesitated and decided not to tell them of his suspicions that came to fruition. "To me, I'm looking at the island from above, then the view moves all the way down into the middle of the jungle. And there's this cave, and there's like, a huge, creepy kaiju in it. Except I _never_ see the thing itself, only its shadow."

"It's useless trying to wonder about dreams," Sakura said firmly. "I say we take a whole bunch of branches, light them up, and make a smoke signal."

"How do we light them?" Yamato pointed out a glaring flaw in her plan. "If your cousin was here, we could've used his cigarette lighter - I bet he smokes."

"If we had a magnifying glass, I could do it," Ryo said.

"But we don't." Yamato stepped out of the water, pulling back on his green hooded tee and shorts. As the others tried to think of a plan, the oldest teen played his trump card. "I have an idea. We could make our way to the cave Ryo saw in his dream, then take shelter there until we make further plans."

"Have you lost your mind? The kaiju could be there!" Ryo exclaimed.

Yamato gave him a stern look. "Ryo, they were all dreams. There's no kaiju in that cave, if the cave even exists. Come on, let's go."

* * *

><p>There seemed to be a set path through the forest. They stumbled upon a trail cleared of bush which led farther within the woods. Yamato (who seemed to have assumed leadership as the oldest) took the decision to continue on the trail. Within a rigorous half hour, they reached a clearing. It was nearing twilight. Ryo's watch said it was a quarter to six, Japan time.<p>

"Let's stop for a while," begged Sakura. "Please?"

"Let's," agreed Yamato. "Ryo?"

Ryo didn't seem to have heard him. He was gazing upwards. In a clear but quiet voice, he asked, "Guys, was there a pteranodon in your dreams?"

"No," Yamato said.

"Never," answered Sakura, adding, "Why'd you ask?"

"Because," Ryo answered, still speaking in a low tone, "there's one flying up there."

There was; a red-scaled pterosaurian kaiju was gliding above, looking curiously at them. It let out a throaty warble and hovered down on a log a few metres away. It had an eagle's head with two blunt horns. Its underside was pale, creamy off-white with light yellow mottled scales. Its intelligent eyes had black rings around a golden iris. It warbled again, cocked it head to the right and spoke.

"She is Rodan."

The voice was less shrill and and shrieking than Rodan's cry. The words blended together musically. It was also unmistakeably feminine.

"She is Rodan. That is, you are Rodan," said Yamato, clearly lost. Rodan let out a trilling cry that seemed to fly out of her throat; a laugh. "Yes she is. She would like you to come with her."

"Where?" asked Sakura, finding her voice at last.

"Nowhere unsafe, she assures you. She will take you to the Lord of Monster Island." Rodan lowered her wings, placing them in front of the teens like ramps.

"Lord? Monster Island?" repeated Yamato in complete astonishment.

"She's telling the truth," said Ryo suddenly, speaking in the same dazed tone he had used before Ghidorah's attack. He climbed up her wing in seconds, gently caressing her neck. Rodan laughed again. "That tickles."

"We can trust her," Ryo insisted, still dazed. He blinked a couple of times, then asked, "You guys coming up or not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I saw _Godzilla: Final Wars_ last night and began playing Godzilla Unleashed Double Smash. Pretty cool, actually. FYI, the monsters from the other two's dreams are Titanosaurus, Kumonga, the Meganulon (which pile up to become Megaguirus) and Jet Jaguar. Rodan's cry can be found at "youtube*com/watch?v=Te50warNGg4 ", if you replace the asterisk with a period. As for Rodan's speech pattern: speaking in third person, or illeism is common in Japanese and considered feminine - I got the idea from _The Forbidden Kingdom_'s Sparrow. I had to split this chapter into two halves or it would never be finished.

**Replies to Reviews**

Neil Riebe: the radiation levels are high (not only in Japan but worldwide) but not extremely dangerous - most kaiju which exhibit radiation have a surprisingly low amount emanating from them. Over time as kaiju rampaged, people's systems became acclimatized to the radiation. The 'layers' of radiation piled up giving a high radiation amount. That isn't to say people are immune to radiation's effects - the population count has dropped rapidly within the months of kaiju attacks. I knew 'Ebi' also meant lobster, but according to Wikizilla and Wikipedia, Ebirah is a shrimp, not a lobster and I plan to stick with this. Like I said, I saw _Final Wars_ just last night (7th April) and well, it kinda stuck that Godzilla seemed to be...behaving idiotically. A lot of other things, like Godzilla just swinging most of the monsters around by their tails...well it seemed just unnatural so I plan to focus on fight scenes and kaiju character developement a bit more. This is more of a 'reboot' to the entire kaiju serie - like _Godzilla Neo_ - than a sequel to _Final Wars_.

Please continue reviewing so that I know what and where to improve and what I'm doing right. Also, something else. I'm willing to hold auditions for the partners of FireRadon and Anguirus - sorry, you can't decide who will be your kaiju partner. You can fill out the form for both but only one can be accepted. Fill out this form to audition.

**Human**

Full name:  
>Age: [11-15 for Fire Radon, 15-22 for Anguirus]<br>Gender: [Male/Female ONLY]  
>Appearance: [Description only - linking to a picture is not allowed]<br>Personality:  
>History: [a short background]<p>

**Kaiju - FireRadon  
><strong>

Gender: [M/F is enough]  
>Appearance: [You <em>can<em> link to a picture here - no description allowed!]  
>Personality:<br>Version of origin: [Is he/she a spawn of Radon? Is he/she another of the Rodanodactyls that survived on Monster Island?]  
>Speed: [HisHer maximum and usual speed, in-flight]  
>Powers: [Special abilities. Use "http:godzilla*wikia*com/wiki/Fire_Rodan " (replace the asterisks with periods) and check out the Power/Weapons section. You can include fanmade ones too.]  
>Weaknesses: [Because we don't have uber-kaiju.]<p>

**Kaiju - Anguirus** [Male only here]

Appearance: [You _can_ link to a picture here - no description allowed!]  
>Personality:<br>Version of origin: [Is he a mutant Angilasaurus? Is he, like King Caesar, an ancient being trapped somewhere for a helluva long time?]  
>Powers: [Use "http:godzilla*wikia*com/wiki/Anguirus" (replace the asterisks with periods) and check out the Power/Weapons section. You can include fanmade ones too.]


	6. Arrival Part 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

WARNING: The chapter contains references to profanity and drugs. Do not read if you are easily offended.

_This fanfiction's rating has been raised from K+ to T._

* * *

><p><em>Recap - Waking on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, Ryo, Yamato and Sakura realise that they had all visited the island before, in their dreams. They decide to make their way to the cave in Ryo's dreams and meet an female pterosaurian kaiju, Rodan. Ryo insists Rodan can be trusted. Rodan tells them she must take them to the 'Lord of Monster Island'...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Five**-

到着！モンスター島とばくせんし の秘密 Arrival! Monster Island and the Secret of the BakuSenshi

(Part Two)

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island.<em>

_2025._

Flying on Rodan's back was exhilerating, to say the least. It was the ultimate experience, sitting on the back of a giant pterosaur, feeling the wind blow your hair away and whip your words into the sky, melding them with the noise of flapping wings. It was long enough for them to savour the experience but short enough not to bore them. Within half an hour, Rodan had effortlessly led them to the centre of the island.

The cave.

It was exactly like Ryo had imagined it. Obsidian black with rock formations that resembled razor spines chopping through the air. Crystal stalagmites bursting from the ground. Moss covering the floor. Red sand scattered at the entrance. In real life it was much, much bigger, with a nearly 400-foot tall entrance.

"She brings to the attention of the Lord of Monster Island these newcomers!" Rodan announced, and the stalagmites begin to vibrate, changing colour from translucent green to bright, opaque cyan. "You will have to be tested to see the Lord," Rodan explained. "You may all enter to take the test."

"Ladies first," Yamato said, making a mock chivalrous bow. Sakura kicked him in the shin contemptuously before entering. Ryo and Yamato followed suit.

* * *

><p>Sakura was not nervous. Afraid she would fail? Yes. Nervous? No. She would take whatever she got.<p>

"What are your names?" rang out two voices at once. They were controlled and exhibited minimal emotion, ringing clear like bells.

Sakura stifled a gasp and turned to see two identical, olive-skinned young women, dressed in two pieces of red cloth, one across the chest, one over the middle. There were golden bands around their bare upper arms. Their hair was tied into a single ponytail that swung to their heels, held with another gold band. There were two extremely unnerving things about them.

One, they had eyes like no ordinary human being. They had two completely black irises.

Two, they were barely eight inches tall.

"Sakura is my name," she said. Yamato and Ryo introduced themselves.

"We are Shobijin," the women replied instantly. "We shall inform you and the other humans of your tests."

"You speak as if you're not human," Sakura said, confused.

"We are not. However, our species is a matter for another time." One of the Shobijin gestured to the inner dark cave. "Your task is to reach the other side."

"That sounds way too easy."

" Alive."

"Now it sounds morbid," Yamato moaned.

They stepped forward, and everything they could see vanished.

* * *

><p>Darkness masked the area. Occasionally, the sea of shadows rippled, and sending a wave of fear crashing down upon Ryo's mind. It reminded him of things better off unmentioned, things like that fateful day...<p>

_South Nagoya._

_2020_

_"Kaiju attacks have been continuing in Nagoya. The giant chelonian Kamoebas and lobster-thing Ganimes have destroyed the eastern sector completely, and the western sector has been assaulted continually for thirty-eight hours by Ohkondol, the giant bird of prey. The northern sector was evacuated in time, allowing residents to escape from the invulnerable flaming beast nicknamed 'Fire Lion'. No news yet from the south sector as it appears to have experienced total blackout."_

_The newsreader vanished as Kazu turned off the power of the TV on the counter._

_"Well, you're wrong about that last bit," Kazu said grimly. "It's not a total blackout. We still have power and can receive your transmissions. You just don't get ours."_

_What was originally planned as a fun, month-long winter vacation turned into a nightmare. The Suzukas had planned their vacation to Nagoya carefully - but the kaiju intervened. Their hotel in the southern sector had been destroyed as they were out at an amusement park. By nightfall, they were forced to take shelter in a completely abandoned electronics store. The newsreaders described the situation as 'total panic' with 'mayhem everywhere'. It was much, much worse. They didn't even know which kaiju had attacked. All they saw was something huge with a long neck and a terrifying, unearthly cackling shriek flying in the darkness, setting things on fire._

_Yamato and Ryo, twelve and eight at the time respectively, were with Kazu, helping him cook bowls of instant noodles for themselves and the few other 'refugees' who had stumbled upon the makeshift shelter. Their mother, Suzuka Momoe _[ 鈴鹿百恵 ]_ , had gone out to the supermarket down the street in hopes of salvaging more water and packets of ramen. Suddenly, they heard it again - that evil howl, sounding like a demented hyena._

_"MOMOE!"_

_Kazu's loud yell was justified. He knew it as he hoped against hope that it wouldn't be. He ran out, hoping to see his wife safe and sound, but to no avail. The supermarket was on fire._

_"_Otousan,_" young Ryo asked, tugging at Kazu's shirt. "_Otousan_, is _Okaasan_ safe?"_

_When no answer was forthcoming, Ryo burst into tears._

_No. No ... I can't bring myself to move on ... I can't forget her ... _Okaasan ...

He heard her gentle voice, felt her touch his mind. Ryo stopped, unable to move. _She wouldn't have wanted me to be like this. She would have told me to wake up, not to live in the past. Sakura always does. Women!..._

Forced to accept the bitter truth that he would never see Momoe again - at least not tangibly - Ryo suddenly felt a weight fall off his mind. He was free, no longer chained to his past. He weakly began to laugh.

* * *

><p>The shadows of the cave hung upon Yamato like the shadows of the past. He remembered that day. The day he let himself get out of hand .<em>..<em>

_Tokyo City, Suzuka residence._

_2018_

_"_Nii-san,_ can you come with me? Please _nii-san_, I want to buy the new _Samurai Kiyuki_ manga - they've released the new compilation. Please _nii-san_?" six-year-old Ryo asked excitedly, prodding his older brother._

_"I told you tomorrow!" snapped Yamato, reaching for a charcoal pencil. He took his drawing classes very seriously and was driving himself to practice still life in the summer while there was no class. "I don't see how you could devour that crap about a samurai and _kitsune_ and _kappa_ and all those other _yokai_ - it's unhealthy and superstitious."_

_"_Nii-san, _you said the c-word!" giggled Ryo, before protesting, "But it's fun! And I want to see how Kiyuki-_san_ defeats the Evil King of _Oni_ and the _Yuki-onna _sorceress and -"_

_"BE QUIET!" roared Yamato, bringing down his hand; _WHAP!

_Ryo rubbed the place where Yamato had slapped him, shell-shocked; then he began to cry._

_Ryo ... I can never forgive myself for that day ... for letting my emotions get the better of me ... but I'm afraid ... I'm afraid you'll reject my apology ... I don't have your nerve and never will, little bro ... but ... I'll have to force myself to do it now. After all, better late than never._

Hearing Ryo laugh, Yamato tapped his shoulder.

"_Hai_, Yamato?"

"Ryo," Yamato whispered, "remember that day you wanted to get the new compilation of some manga while I was doing my drawing practice?"

"Yeah - _Samurai Kiyuki_. I can't believe I actually _liked_ that crap about a samurai and _kitsune_ and _kappa_ and all those other _yokai_." Ryo smiled at the memory. Yamato noticed his brother had used almost the exact same words as he himself had done, seven years ago.

"And remember I ... I hit you?"

"Yeah ... so what? You're not feeling guilty about _that_, are you? Not after so many years?" Ryo looked at him incredulously.

Yamato smiled, forgetting his tension. "Well, I just decided to say, well," he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. Would have been done way back if you'd asked," Ryo replied.

Yamato felt his mind be unburdened slowly. He was free from this matter ... no more sleepless nights, wondering if he would once more let his emotions get out of control. No more outbursts.

* * *

><p>The curling curtains of cavernous shadows crept up to Sakura's mind. The putrid sense of decaying memories perched in her mind, forcing her to envision a day she would have rather forgotten...<p>

_Tokyo City, Motomiya ancestral residence._

_2019_

_Seven-year-old Sakura wandered the dark, dusty, and unaturally crowded hallways of her grandfather's house. It was three days until Christmas - three days of absolute hell._

_Three days of family reunion._

_Unlike regular family reunions, with backslapping, openly warm and cheerful relatives, the Motomiya reunions had backstabbing relatives who hid their menace behind a facade of forced cheer who were decidedly cheer_less_. This was in most part due to the enormous 100000000Y+ fortune hoarded away by Motomiya Kenjiro _[ 本宮健次郎 ]_ - the patriarch. And Sakura's grandfather. The octogenarian (read: 'old geezer') was a _huge_ tightwad who, Sakura expected, would suffer cardiac arrest if his monthly expenditures came upto more than 100Y._

_"SAKURA! Come here, girl! Can't you even _tell_ me whenever you decide to wander off?" Motomiya Kotone _[ 山田琴 ] _rushed in followed by her husband Motomiya Hibiki _[ 本宮響 ]_ - Sakura's parents. Behind them trooped in a surprisingly tall young man of about twenty and a slouched teenage girl in dark shades, her mouth smeared with a blood-red shade of lipstick. These were Sakura's older siblings, Katsuro and Sora._

_"Why do you worry about me so much?" Sakura groaned as Kotone attempted to drag her away from a sundial in a glass case, one of the many souvenirs Kenjiro had acquired during his extensive globetrotting in his youth._

_"You really want to know? It's because _Ojii-san_ is a zombie who'll have you for lunch if you go too far away from us," snapped Katsuro, looking angry. "_Okaasan_, I'll handle this devil. You go supervise the caterers."_

_As Kotone rushed away, looking harried, Hibiki and Sora dispersed, vanishing in opposite directions. Katsuro leant down and spoke quietly and fiercely to Sakura. "Look. _Okaasan _might give a damn as to what _you _want to do, but these people don't care," he ended with a general gesture around, indicating the people in the room._

_"But this is a family reunion ... shouldn't we be talking to all the _Onee-sans _and _Onii-sans_ and making friends with them?"_

_"Not here. Here, all these people want money, which is one thing _Ojii-san_ has a lot of. And they certainly won't like you - because _Otousan _is _Ojii-san_'s eldest son, he gets all of _Ojii-san_'s money after the old man dies and because _we_ are _Otousan_'s kids, we will get his money after _he _dies. Got it?"_

_"So ... no making friends with the people?"_

_Katsuro looked exasperated. "That's what I've been trying to tell you." With a low growl, he loped into the next room to yell at someone who had dropped a ceramic plate._

_What _Onii-san_ said that day prevented me from following my heart and trying to make peace amongst our family members like I thought I could. What he said ... after it I could never really look at my family in a friendly way. But now ... I realise what he was really talking about. He meant that those people were good people ... but the love of money turned them into wolves, like in that Latin proverb last year ..._ Sakura's mind burned a neon trail. The velocity of her thoughts would not have been out of place in a NASCAR championship statistics website._Now ... I understand ... He didn't stop me from trying to befriend them, he was trying to warn me of how risky it could be if I were to try ..._

* * *

><p>As all three of the teens' minds clicked, as they came to peace with themselves<em>, <em>a burst of light shot out and a faint hole could be made out.

"**Welcome back, BakuSenshi.**"

An echoing, noble voice burned through the darkness, literally. The cave walls were lit up in sea blue light emanating from the large crystals on the walls. The hole was revealed, a large opening that could have easily admitted an elephant.

"Wha...?" Yamato, for once, was lost for words.

"**All your questions will be answered. But first, please leave the cavern.**"

Ryo clambered through the hole, followed by his brother and friend. They were on a huge floating rock, gently levitating four or five metres above a bizarre lake filled with clear water that was tinted in a dark blue hue and large turtles and even a dolphin-like creature. Neon tubes filled with orange or green liquid slowly revolved a few feet away from the edges of the rock. It seemed almost twilight

The dolphin-like beast leaped into the sky, and clicked out a series of ... clicks, also revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp triangular teeth. Up close, its blue-grey skin appeared to be shimmering like aluminium foil.

"That's an Ichthyosaurus. And those turtles are, um, I think Archelon. But these are all ... prehistoric. And they didn't exist at the same time," Ryo said in confusion.

"**No, they didn't. But they were here when we came, and we leave them be.**" The voice was considerably closer this time, but still echoed. The teenagers spun around to find a young man walking to them. A strange contraption, like a metal oxygen mask built only to fit over the mouth, was strapped over his lower face. He sported long, brown hair pulled into a short ponytail. He looked about twenty-five years, or maybe older. It was hard to place his nationality - he had narrow eyes like a Japanese, but his complexion was tanned considerably like an Australian.

"**BakuSenshi. I'm - oh, so**rry." He began to speak in, but pulled off the mask halfway through, continuing in English. "This is a voice disrupter plus long-range megaphone. It also doubles as my inhaler. You can call me Achilles. I don't know if that's my name, and to be honest, I don't give a damn if it is." His real voice was accented and lilting. It sounded European - if Ryo had to guess, he would have said Icelandic or Swedish.

"And you are the Lord of Monster Island?" Yamato inquired.

"I guess so. And you?" 'Achilles' had lapsed back into Japanese, and here his accent was more pronounced. He sounded unsure, as if it was more of a hobby-language.

"Suzuka Yamato, and this is my little brother Ryo and his girl - I mean, his friend Motomiya Sakura." Yamato, returning to Japanese too, hastily avoided Sakura's glare.

Rodan swooped from the sky, carrying a couple of huge fish in her mouth, each at least as long as Ryo's arm. "She presents the Lord Achilles his requested fish."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Rodan." He held out a plastick bucket into which the fish tumbled. "Mmm. I do wish we weren't out of wasabi." Achilles turned to the teens. "I'm afraid you'll be here for a while. It doesn't have to be a bad time though. How does salmon tempura doused in barbecue sauce sound for dinner?"

"Unusual," Sakura said truthfully.

"I suppose it does," Achilles replied. "You should have come last week - creamed spinach and barbecued turtle salad in ranch dressing."

"Who _is _the cook?" asked Yamato.

"Me," Achilles revealed with a grin. "Okay, I'll get the salmon ready. You guys think of your questions."

"Actually, I have one question for you _right now_," Ryo snapped, stepping forward. "Who the hell are you?"

"Sorry, fack after dinner."

"Did he just ...?" Sakura muttered.

"What? Isn't that how you say it, fack? I'm not culturally retarded, I know it sounds like profanity. You know, F-A-Q?"

"Frequently Asked Questions, you mean," Sakura said, realising what he meant.

"Yeah, that." Achilles turned and for the first time, the teens saw a large, horseshoe-shaped house. "Come on in."

* * *

><p>Achilles' house was ... normal. Except for being huge. "For Rodan," he explained. The female kaiju had followed them in. Achilles' tempura tasted amazing. He had even sliced off the singed bits and mashed them with cream to form a sort of smoked-salmon-tasting dip. As for the barbecue-sauce part, he had actually gone and poured some on the raw salmon after skinning it, so the flavour had blended well.<p>

[**Author's Note:** If you believe in making reading fanfiction a mind-blowing experience, I suggest playing Linkin Park's song Runaway while reading the next part.]

"And now for fah ... FAQ," Achilles amended. "Ryo was first, so I'll say this. I have no idea who I am. Washed up here four or five years ago. Rodan tended to my wounds - she's like a mom." He stroked Rodan's beak. "This place is the Bermuda Triangle, by the way. The missing planes were all - well, you'll see."

"What about my cousin and Suzuka-_san_?" Sakura demanded. "I've never seen Destoroya and Ghidorah before but I _have_ seen King Caesar on TV, and if they're AK47s, he's a water pistol. Who are they?"

"Destoroya and Ghidorah are the leading members of the Opressors. They're a faction of kaiju dedicated to wiping out the human race altogether. And we, the Unitists, believe living together in peace with humans is possible. A stretch, but possible."

"Kaiju politics, huh?" Yamato murmured flippantly. Sakura and Ryo ignored him.

"Sounds like your party's outnumbered. Every kaiju I know of is a rampaging killer dedicated to wiping out the human race ," Yamato commented drily.

"Actually, no. We were all Unitists as one before 2020, when we rampaged. And that was for a good reason, may I say. We foresaw nuclear war in the near future, within two years. So we panicked. We wanted to divert attention away from nuclear weapon testing. So we did something rash, heroic, and ultimately, unadmirable. We came in full force, destroying cities, to make sure governments were more preoccupied with the kaiju situation. But after we finally withdrew, a new group came forward. They called themselves the KSA - Kaiju Supremacy Association - but we call them Opressors." Achilles' voice rose explosively. "And they were a bunch of bloody kaiju who got high on killing humans!"

"Calm down," Rodan piped up.

Achilles pulled down the mask, breathing deeply for a few seconds. After a while, he sighed. "Sorry. I just feel like a total loser for allowing the Unitists to lose. The KSA took control of our previous base, Atlantis - don't interrupt, yes, it is real and we created it underwater on purpose - within two months and drove the few of us who survived here. Those Opressors are way more in number than us ... And there's one more important question, related to Sakura's question about Rei and Kazu." No one questioned how he knew the abducted duo's names.

"I know it," Yamato spoke up. "What's a BakuSenshi?"

"That's the one I was lookin' for!" exclaimed Achilles. "Now, you understand two kaiju would normally kill each other in a fight. But since our forces are few and we can't afford to lose any kaiju, we came up with a plan and a name. The name - BakuSenshi. The explosive soldier. Now, you may not believe this but kaiju and humans share a certain amount of DNA - the emotional part. Like people smash up things, go ragin' around when they get mad, when kaiju get _really_ worked up, they use what we call a _Rage Vent_. Rage Vents are super-destructive abilities. It would be easier if you looked at it as a video game. Take Ghidorah. His normal abilities - say, the 'A' and 'B' buttons on your Xbox controller - are lightning bolts and flight. Say 'Y' is his 'defending' ability, his block. He can generate a force-field - most kaiju can - to protect himself. Now, when Ghidorah gets angry enough, his 'rage meter' fills up and he gets powered up with so much emotion. He lets it loose with the 'X' button move, the Rage Vent. I haven't been unfortunate enough to know what his Rage Vent is, but I'm told most can't survive it.

"Now, the emotional DNA humans and kaiju share has a quirk. If any human shares even a single bit of DNA, a tiny, microscopic piece, with a kaiju, well, these two are _bonded_. For life. The kaiju and human can sync thoughts after practice. The kaiju's power is raised. The human becomes more physically powerful and a bit of martial arts - a sort of hybrid form - gets imprinted into their brain for use at will. But the most important thing is this." All five - Rodan included - leaned forwards. Achilles spoke.

"_The human controls the kaiju's Rage Vent_. Well, incompletely. When a strong need arises for the Rage Vent, the bonded human can sync this great need with the kaiju to perform a controllable form of the kaiju's Rage Vent. It's the Rage Vent minus the rage, with the emotion of need replacing anger. We call it the Pseudoemotionally Activated Indigence Neuroweapon."

"You mean, pain," interjected Yamato.

"No, I mean Pseudoemotionally -"

"No, I mean you mean pain. P-A-I-N. Make an acronym. It works."

"Ohh. That is cool," Achilles said, finally seeing what Yamato meant. "Anyway, to continue - we decided to search genetically for anyone who could partner with volunteers for our BakuSenshi program. And we found you five." He stood.

"Suzuka Ryo. Suzuka Yamato. Motomiya Sakura. Suzuka Kazu. And Akane Rei. You five are our BakuSenshi right now."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> First of all, to everyone who's hooked on this fic, even closet fans: I am _so_ sorry I haven't been able to put this up earlier but I was (and still am) on vacation, so I'll be updating less and less often until June. But I haven't given up on this, 'kay?

On a less serious note, I devoured _Gamera the Brave_. Gamera looks badass, all tusks and glowing heatwaves even when he's pouring a river of green blood! Since I'm so excited by that, I'll allow myself to say give you a simple spoiler. _Gamera appears in this fic_. And you don't have to wait long, either! Just a two- or three-chapter gap. Now to fanfic business - as you can see, I've shown my own take on the Shobijin, similar to the ones in Final Wars. We finally learn how Ryo lost his mother, see a bit of Sakura's family and find the flipside of Yamato's emotion-expressing abilities. The next chapter will see more kaiju action, hopefully. And lastly, _Samurai Kiyuki_ isn't a real manga; I dreamed it up for the purpose of the backstory. If it was real, it would be somewhat _InuYasha_-like - _Samurai Kiyuki, the New Feudal Fairytale!_ - having a samurai, a _kitsune_ and a flying lion with a flaming mane go around a post-apocalyptic version of feudal Japan battling various demons. This chapter was unusually easy to write, except for the last part. Anyone who paid attention during the Japanese release of _Pokemon HeartGold _and_SoulSilver_ should get the hidden reference to the aforementioned games in Sakura's parent's names. This chapter's Japanese dictionary -

_kitsune_ - nine-tailed shapeshifting fox spirits that like pulling pranks  
><em>kappa<em> - water imp, sort of like a scaly newt with webbed feet  
><em>Onee-san<em> - literally older sister, can also be used to refer to young women_  
>Ojii-san<em> - Grandfather  
><em>oni<em> - ogre_  
>Onii-san - <em>literally older brother, can also be used to refer to young men_  
><em>tempura - a Japanese way of cooking_  
><em>wasabi - horseradish; a Japanese condiment_  
>yokai<em> - Japanese supernatural entities  
><em>yuki-onna<em> - snow fairy


	7. Meeting of the Destined Partners

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><em>Recap - After Ryo, Yamato, and Sakura all came to terms with events from their past, they met the mysterios Achilles, a man who washed up on Monster Island years ago who also used his voice disrupter to stop Destoroya and Ghidorah's havoc in Tokyo. Achilles answers their questions and reveals that the kaiju began their rampage to direct attention to themselves and away from nuclear weaponry developement, as they had foreseen nuclear war in the near future. He also reveals the 'Rage Vent', a super-destructive power that kaiju unleash upon becoming filled with anger. Humans that share DNA with kaiju, BakuSenshi, can in fact help kaiju use a controlled but less powerful Rage Vent, the Pseudoemotionally Activated Indigence Neuroweapon , or PAIN for short. And Ryo, Sakura, Yamato, Rei and Kazu are all BakuSenshi...<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Six**-

運命のパートナー会 Meeting of the Destined Partners

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><p><em>Monster Island.<br>_

_2025._

"What the bleep?" Yamato exclaimed.

"Hm?" Achilles raised an eyebrow.

"Self inflicted profanity filter. I was going to say hell, but then I remembered that Ryo only watches G-rated movies ..." Yamato teased.

"For your information, I saw _Inception 2_ when I was nine, and that was rated PG-13!" Ryo socked Yamato in the gut.

"Enough clowning around," Achilles broke in. "Time to sleep. Tomorrow you meet your kaiju partners!"

"I hope I at least get a girl ..." Sakura murmured. "Someone who understands boys better than me." Her eyes lit up. "Hey, is mine Rodan?"

"Unfortunately for you, no," Achilles answered.

"Aww..."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ryo woke up to find Sakura's head resting in the crook of his arm. There was only one king-size bed and Yamato had volunteered to crash on the floor on a pile of blankets - for the sake of, as he added, letting the 'lovebirds' share a bed as 'practice for when they married'. Ryo wondered if his brother's ribs had stopped hurting yet from the pillows and punches thrown from both sides. Reddening, he gently eased his arm away, then rose in time to see the sun rise over Monster Island, dotting the lake with orange, red, crimson and ochre. The 'dawning', as Kazu had once called sunrise, was followed by Rodan, flying over the lake and perching back in her nest, a gigantic tree near the mouth of the cave.<p>

"Come on, wake up, wake up! It's scrambled fish eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast, and I'll get some miso soup if I can find some!" Achilles roared, banging something loudly outside the bedroom. This awoke Sakura easily enough, while Yamato snored away. Ryo reached for his pillow. Yamato's ribcage would never be the same.

_Ten minutes later_

"Thanks for the bruises. I bet I can give up all chances of joining the school swim team next year." Yamato glared at his brother, who was helping himself to the hashbrowns and stuffed tomatoes.(Strangely enough, Achilles and Rodan were the only ones eating the scrambled fish eggs.)

Once all five had finished breakfast, Achilles stood up, leading the others outside. "Rodan, mind giving us a lift?"

"She refuses to bear your weight," Rodan informed Achilles, "but agrees to give a lift to the others."

"Fine, I'll take the cool way," Achilles smirked. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled a tune.

"Is that _Summer of '69_?" Yamato muttered incredulously.

"Shut up," Achilles said, removing his fingers. A huge turtle leapt out of the air and Achilles leapt onto its shell, pulling on his mask/inhaler as he did. The turtle, hitting the lake, swam towards the centre, to the bottom of the island. "_COWABUNGA, DUDE_!"

"He's such a showoff," Sakura muttered.

"She is ready to leave." Rodan lowered her wings, and the teens climbed up. As soon as they were in place, she took off, swooping down, gliding gently with her wings motionless. As they neared the lake surface, she warned, "Hold on tight," and swooped sharply, narrowly missing a couple of surfacing turtles. As they neared the centre, a wide green-tinted tube came into view. "Hold your breath!" Rodan dove and fly/swam to the bottom of the tube, then glided smoothly up, her wingtips nearly grazing the tube's glass. The tube reached up through the core of the rock, and that was where Rodan was speeding to.

They shot out of the tube at lower speeds, landing on a steel floor. Ryo looked around. The inside of the floating rock had been carved into a wide, expansive room with fluoroscent lighting panels on the top. It appeared to be a lab of sorts. Achilles was by a circular steel door.

"Welcome to the Lab Rynthe. You know, lab, labyrinth ... whatever. And the lake is called Lake Tenmei and the floating rock is called Fudo Iwa. Now come on, you need to meet your partners!" He gestured for Sakura to get in. "Ladies first."

Sakura stepped in and the air rippled. She vanished.

"What'dya do to her?" demanded Ryo, but Achilles simply smirked. "It's my own design. A teleportation door. I applied for a patent last year and they told me to go fly a kite," explained the latter. "Get in, go on." He almost pushed Yamato in, and Ryo stepped in before the man could push him too.

"... Meh." Achilles grabbed the mask before heading into the teleporter ...

* * *

><p>Ryo stepped onto the beach. The fishy scent of the ocean assaulted his sinuses. He didn't recognize the rocky outcrop they stood on - it was unfamiliar in its bleakness. Achilles appeared besides him. "Ssh. Wait for it," he whispered to the teens, as if he was saying something that made sense.<p>

So they waited. For thirty seconds. A minute. A minute and forty-five. Two minutes.

A disturbance seemed to spread out from the ocean. Fish swam away from the epicentre of the circular anomaly. Something had seriously spooked those salmon ...

Action!

The massive, blue-grey head was the first part of the kaiju to surface. The four-metre-long, lizardlike face had a certain bestial grace, with two rows of brutal spikes arising from the neck with artistic symmetry, marching down past the thick neck with a large skin-flap, down over the horizontal spine with the outline of ribs prominent over the abdomen and on the side, and finally, down the tail, a twenty-metre-long structure, tapering down to a narrow, sharp and erect tip, like the nose of a drill.

"**Suzuka Yamato, BakuSenshi. Meet your partner, Zilla, the one born from the sea, he of the Great Tail.**" Achilles was speaking formally again, through his mask. Then, pulling it down, he added cheekily, "Also called GINO."

Zilla snarled, apparently in mock anger. "Shut up, yo. I'm not the one named after someone who died 'cause of a boo-boo in his heel, yo." The iguana-like kaiju's voice was raspy, low and seemed as if Zilla had gargled the words before speaking.

"Har-di-har-har, _yo_," Achilles mimicked, before continuing with his mask pulled back on. "**Sakura, you must be up next. Ah, here she is now.**"

A low humming sound was heard, melodious and rising gradually. Sakura spun around, searching for the origin of the voice. A titanic moth with glowing blue eyes was flying, about 15m high. The blue irises were ringed by white, lightly hairy scales, which blended into the black body. White rings were placed on the lower abdomen and the beating, yellow wings, seemed to produce light, glittery yellow dust which blew back with the wind.

"**Motomiya Sakura, BakuSenshi. Meet your partner, Mothra, the one who glides, she who commands the winds.**" This time, Achilles made no attempt to needle Mothra.

Mothra landed, and for the first time, long tube-like feet unfolded from the side of her body. "My destined partner. At last, we meet. What is your name?"

"Um, Sakura," Sakura replied. "You're Mothra, right?"

"Indeed, that is my name."

Meanwhile, Yamato was attempting to scratch Zilla's tail, while the reptilian repeatedly tried to move his tail but stopped for fear of hurting Yamato. "Oh come on, that tickles, yo!"

"Yeah, right. You goof, you're enjoying this as much as a spa day, ain't you?"

"Yeah, you're right, yo. Probably."

In the mean time, Ryo was looking around. "Achilles, what about my partner? Hello?" He sweatdropped, seeing Achilles chomping on a slice of sushi. "_Hey_!" Ryo delivered a sound whack to Achilles' head, causing the man swallow his wasabi whole.

"_Yaoooooooooooowwww_!" Once Achilles had calmed down, Ryo whacked him again. "_Hey_!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Your partner's sort of ... dead."

"What?"

"I kid, don't worry. He's coming, he just wants to chomp down a couple of subs."

"And by sub, you mean, _Subway_ subs, right?"

"Nah, submarines." Seeing Ryo's mortified expression, Achilles laughed. "Kidding, again. He might not be, but if he does, you gotta live with it. He's that kind of guy ... and here he is, right now." Achilles pulled on the mask.

"**Suzuka Ryo, BakuSenshi. Meet your partner Godzilla, the one who destroys, he who is the King of Monsters.**"

A gigantic, 50-metre-tall figure was rising from the ocean, a humanoid, rough-scaled charcoal grey beast. Huge grey spikes, shaped like maple leaves, erupted from his back, slicing through the air. Sheer brutal force was embodied in his great, fiery yellow pupils and his still, too-heavy-to-move tail of epic proportions boasted of his invincible bulk. It was as if Godzilla had been built as the perfect killing machine.

"Feh." A noise escaped his throat. "So ... you're my new partner, now. I hope you're ready to take a risk. Or," Godzilla flexed his neck, "you'll have _that_ lesson beaten into you."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_Inception 2_ doesn't exist ... but it should. I began to watch _Godzilla vs King Ghidorah _next to get to know my pro- and antagonist better. Next up: _Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla_. This time I decided to 'play up the romance' a bit for Ryo and Sakura. The sea turtle isn't a kaiju, just a random thing. My portrayal of Zilla is mainly based on the _G:FW_ version, with some of my own bits and pieces, like the spikes, which are traits belonging to iguanas. Zilla is an informal, comedic kinda dude, while Mothra is formal, gentle and trusting. Godzilla ... he has attitude, I'll give you that! Way too much attitude. In battle, Zilla would be like, "Come on, ya piece of roadkill, yo," while Mothra would be all, "Enemy of the earth, you shall be vanquished!" but Godzilla, he'd go, "Come on, you shithead, is that the best you can do?" He's a hardcore, tough-nut badass kind of guy, and if you've ever watched _Digimon Savers_ (_Digimon: Data Squad_ outside of Japan) you'll see the similarities between Godzilla and Marcus/Masaru. You can find the kaiju roars here:

ZILLA: "www*youtube*com/watch?v=M4lRYWX4xTo&feature=related" (2:41)  
>MOTHRA: "www*youtube*comwatch?v=wjR7agm4_Kc"  
>GODZILLA: "www*youtube*comwatch?v=2S-LPZArRKo&feature=related" (third roar)

Finally, I have decided to close auditions for the partner BakuSenshi for FireRodan and Anguirus as the former got one unsatisfactory application and the latter, no applications.


	8. Rescue Mission

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

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><p><em>Recap - Except for an uncomfortable moment with Sakura in the morning, the day is going well for Ryo - until Achilles tricks Ryo into thinking his kaiju partner eats submarines. The time when all three must meet their kaiju partners finally comes. Yamato is partnered with Zilla, an agile mutated iguana. Sakura's partner is Mothra, a beautiful flying moth. And Ryo's partner is the vicious irradiated dinosaur, Godzilla, the King of Monsters, who ravaged Tokyo five years ago ...<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Seven**-

救出作戦 Rescue Mission

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><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis<br>_

_2025._

Kazu slowly opened his eyes. He was in a huge, starkly decorated (read 'empty) stone room, lying on the icy marble floor. Rei was nearby, sitting on a brick and doing something on his iPod.

`So ... they're awake.` The whistling sound arose from the throat of a kaiju, perched on the balcony at the top of the room. `Khekhekhekhekhe ...` The beast's head was flat and rounded, somewhat resembling a manta-ray's body with a protruding curved 'face' wielding two neon purple eyes and a mouth shaped oddly, like a set of eight gills or ribs. Four two-fingered tentacles waved, each one about forty metres long. The abomination's total height was about fifty-five metres.

Millennian swooped away, generating soft clicking sounds continually.

Kazu stood, his eyes sweeping over the room. "Damn ... no doors, no windows, not even a vent!" Rei ignored his outburst and stood up, stretching as he put away the electronic device.

"They do have free wi-fi," Rei pointed out a seemingly useless fact.

"So what?"

"Do you have an iPhone or a BlackBerry with a Maps app?"

Kazu's eyes lit up. "I get it." He quickly whipped out a BlackBerry and opened the Maps app he had, selecting the locator feature. The screen went grey for a second, reading 'LOADING' over a progress bar. In twenty seconds, the screen reappeared, pinpointing the phone's location. Kazu whooped. "YES! It works!" But when he took a closer look, his frown returned. "Wait a second ... this can't be right. This is screwed up. Don't ask why, shut up and let me talk. It's messed up because according to the map ...

"We're in the middle of the Celtic Shelf."

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island<em>

_2025._

Ryo was completely taken aback at the size of Godzilla. While Mothra and Rodan were about 80 metres and Zilla about 50 metres, Godzilla was at least a hundred metres tall! The titan's brutal gaze met Ryo's and for a second, Ryo experienced the 'thought sync' Achilles had spoken of. Godzilla's emotions were animalistic, but complex. His thoughts collided violently, more images than words, more inexpressible beliefs than concrete feelings. He had the true mind of a beast, simply giving priority to what he needed most at the moment. Shaken, Ryo broke off the mind link, amazed at the murky, yet simple mind of the 'King of Monsters'.

Achilles suddenly frowned. "Wait a sec, guys. Something's wrong. I get live feed from ten news channels in Japan and eight of them are covering a kaiju attack from a huge **UFO-headed monster.**" Breathing heavily, he pulled his mask on. "**I guess you'll have to go into action before getting a chance to hang out. Teleporter initializing, get ready. 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Go!**"

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza, Tokyo City<em>

_2025._

"Are we on?" the reporter asked breathlessly, an unattractive brunette in a plain grey shirt and jeans.

"Live in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ..." The cameraman clicked the button.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is Takeda Haruna from M-4 News live at City Plaza, where a never-before-seen kaiju is hovering sinisterly over the plaza while destroying buildings with its tentacles. The monster, announcing itself as Millennian, appears to have two hostages, a man and a teenage boy. So far, the kaiju has not made its intentions clear. The GDF have assembled their new anti-kaiju weapons which they announced the building of last year. These weapons are codenamed MOGUERA, an acronym for Mobile Operation Geo-traveller, Universal Extermination Robot Aeronaut, and are part of GDF's Project Mecha-Monster or P2M. The four MOGUERA units currently ready for battle have been assembled and will intervene should Millennian show hostility. Oh, what's that? There appears to be a disturbance on the rooftop of the Plaza. Three individuals have appeared amidst the GDF soldiers, appearing to be dressed in - hey! Hey, get away from - what are you doing?"

A GDF soldier in camouflage gear had just thrown the camera to the ground, smashing the lens. "This is a restricted area. Non-GDF not allowed beyond this point," he said, ignoring their protests as he shooed them away.

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza rooftop, Tokyo City<em>

_2025._

Ryo stared at the GDF soldiers. They stared back.

He looked at the others and sweatdropped. Both were wearing metallic-coloured jumpsuits, Yamato blue-grey, Sakura turquoise green, with white shoulder pads, gloves and boots, and sleek motorcycle helmets in their respective colours, complete with tinted visors and mics. He looked down and found himself dressed the same with a black colour scheme. Confused, Ryo muttered, "What the hell just happened?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Achilles' voice came through the mic earphone. "_**Teleported you to the site of battle. Your kaiju are coming. For now, tell your friends to shut up and take care of the military. Whisper into your mic to speak to the others and me.**_"

A man walked upto them. Ryo recognized him - Hiroyama, the GDF Lt.-General from the airport. Where everything changed. "Identify yourselves," he said in English, before trying Japanese.

"Um, do you come in peace? He's our leader," one of the men ventured. Hiroyama threw him a glare. Ryo just barely managed to hold back a laugh. _They think we're aliens! Oh, this really is a YouTube moment._

"We are human," Ryo spoke. "We are the BakuSenshi. We were chosen to fight the kaiju."

"Chosen by whom? As far as I know, the Japanese government has authorised no such 'BakuSenshi'," Hiroyama barked.

"The kaiju are divided. Some wish to wipe out the human race. Others only want peace. We are representatives of the peaceful kaiju," Ryo explained.

"Peaceful? Ha! Kaiju are bloodthirsty killers! And what about your friends? Are they mute?" To his men, Hiroyama commanded, "Men! Take custody of them!"

Ryo nearly panicked. Then he remembered Achilles' words._ The human becomes more physically powerful and a bit of martial arts gets imprinted into their brain for use at will. _As four of the men approached him warily, rifles held out, he moved, faster than he was ever in his wildest dreams, and kicked the men backwards, simultaneously grabbing their weapons. "_Come on guys, we can take 'em!_" he encouraged through the mic.

Following his example, Yamato and Sakura executed several impressive moves, twisting and punching, high-jumping and gut-elbowing. Finally, the men were all lying on the rooftop, and Hiroyama was nowhere to be seen.

"That skunk, where'd he go?" Yamato looked around. Suddenly he looked up. "Millennian! The kaiju!"

Hiroyama's voice rang out, magnified and tinny. "All MOGUERA units, move out! Eliminate the threat!" Suddenly, four huge robots burst from the ground. Each one was exactly the same - steel, with a circular torso, cubical neck, and large hips, with a steel drill-nose - except for the colour of the eyes and the Roman numerals on the forehead. Unit One had green eyes, Unit Two, yellow, Unit Three, blue and Unit Four, black. Thrusters located on the leg-sides activated, and the flying mole-bots shot at Millennian, who swatted them away with his tentacles. Sparks flew everywhere.

All of a sudden, three simultaneous roars rang out. Three very familiar kaiju appeared, in vortexes of swirling grey, turquoise and blue-grey.

Godzilla was the first to charge into battle, lumbering ahead, holding his tail still. "Come on, jellyfish. You're gonna have an Unidentified _Fried_ Object for a head once I'm done with you!" he roared in his gravelly howl. A blue fireball appeared in his mouth, streaming out into a blue beam. "One Millenian steak coming up, well done and seared with our trademark Atomic Ray!" Sparks burst from Millennian's tentacles and he unleashed a high-pitched whistle ...

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Ryo held his breath. <em>I heard that newsreader say something about two hostages ... <em>Otousan_, I'm coming!_ He ran, from the edge of the rooftop, to the opposite end, gaining momentum, and jumped ...

... landing safely on the other side. _That was one huge leap of faith ..._ He continued, gaining momentum, and with his third kick-off, he crossed over the next rooftop to the one adjacent, a few metres away. Now he could clearly make out Rei and Kazu, tied together and gagged. Otousan_!_ Ryo shot like a bullet across the rooftop and landed on the other side, ripping the ropes open with superhuman strength. "_Otousan_! It's me, Ryo!"

"Ryo?" Kazu said in amazement, painfully getting up and rubbing his wrists, while Rei did the same. "You look different, and you're as tall as me. And why are you amd how did you -"

"I'll explain later. Right now you gotta get to safety. Head downstairs and wait for me at the ground level. I'll be there in twenty minutes." When Kazu looked mutinous, as if he wouldn't take orders from his son even if they were the same height, Ryo drew on Godzilla's mind. "You gotta get there now! I'll meet you! Just _GO_!" he commanded, with an element of power in his much stronger voice. As they hurried down the stairs, Ryo blinked. _Wow ... I did it again._

* * *

><p>Just a few buildings away, the battle royale was continuing.<p>

`Khekhekhekhe! You're no match for my paralyse breath!` Millennian fired a yellow streaking beam from his mouth. In response, Godzilla opened his mouth and literally swallowed the whole beam. Smoke erupted from his nostrils and he appeared to stiffen. `I warned you!` The UFO-headed kaiju cackled, waving its tentacles and slashing at Godzilla, who suddenly lashed out, snatching Orga's tentacles. `Haven't you heard of playing dead, shithead? Well, now you're gonna learn to _be dead_!` Godzilla rasped, swinging Millennian at Zilla, who swung his tail, shouting, `Heads up, Mothra, yo!` Mothra flapped her wings, sending a gale crashing into Millennian, who collapsed onto the ground.

"Who's gonna finish the shithead off?" Godzilla challenged.

"I'll do it, yo - Zilla gets to inflict some major PAIN!" his doppelganger replied with a grin. "Yamato, you ready?" The older Suzuka leapt onto Zilla's back and replied in a magnified voice, "Any time, partner! Let's do this!" A network of hidden cables forming intricate patterns under Yamato's suit glowed bright white, and he grinned through his visor. _This is gonna be fun._

Both partners spoke simultaneously. "Execute PAIN! **Flame Breath**, _hyaa_!" Zilla opened his mouth, a huge beam like Godzilla's Atomic Ray, but made of white-hot flames and ringed with spiral energy. The devastating blast crashed into Millennian and the alien-like kaiju emitted a high, shrill whistling cry of agony as sparks burst all over. Zilla shut his mouth and the cables dimmed, as the Flame Breath died away.

Steam hissed from Millennian's body. Angry welts, each one to two metres in diametre, had sprang up all over him. Millennian, still whistling, fluted out in rage, `I'll get you, you bloody reptile. Just you wait. Millennian will have his revenge! But for now ... I will retreat!` A purple vortex stretched suddenly behind him.

`Oh no you won't! Get back here, extraterrestrial scum!` Godzilla snarled, and reached out, crunching on a tentacle. Sparks flew up both Millennian's tentacle and Godzilla's fins, and the saurian let go. Millennian vanished, disappearing into the portal.

"**_Good work, guys! That's one-nil for us, and we're going to crush those Opressors!_**" Achilles cheered through the earphones. "**_Get ready, I'm teleporting you back in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Go!_**" As all six BakuSenshi and partners vanished, Kazu and Rei felt a tingling in their spine before they, too, were snatched away through space ...

* * *

><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis<br>_

_2025._

A smoking, welt-covered Millennian re-emerged from the vortex, collapsing on the floor of the room, right in front of Destoroya. The latter smirked. `So you carried out an unauthorized terror spree, huh? _And _you lost. Ghidorah-_sama_ won't be too happy to hear of this. Actually, he knew the minute you activated a teleporter vortex without contacting him first. Did you forget he has limited psionic power while in Atlantis?`

`Shut up. I bet you went and dropped a_ very_ subtle hint to Ghidorah-_sama_, suggesting he check the vortex signals,` accused Millennian. `Besides, I did find something very important out. The so-called _Lord of Monster Island_,` saying the title with dripping contempt, `has managed to build them nanofibre battle suits for optimum levels of power control and use. _And_,` he grew grim, `one of them used the bonded version of the Rage Vent on me.`

`Really? Heh ... they really have become powerful in such a short time. Only about 14 hours on Monster Island. Our lead scientists said it would take at least forty-eight hours. Which one, by the way?`

`I'm not telling.`

`It was the lizard, wasn't it?`

`How could you tell?`

`You have burn marks in places I wouldn't like to mention - the trademark of Flame Breath. But there's one more thing ... you seem to stink of,` Destoroya sniffed the air, `radiation.` He held Millennian's gaze curiously for a second, before adding, `No matter. I'll be on my way now. And I'll be sure not to mention to anyone - particularly _not _Ghidorah-_sama_ - that you were roasted by a mutant iguana.`

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>You know, I originally thought Requiem meant 'aftermath of a disaster' or something like that. So I decided to use it in the name of the headquarters of the KSA in Atlantis. But when I looked it up, I found out it really meant 'Mass for the Dead' - which fit in almost as well. Requiem Tower was originally a monument in the centre of a graveyard. By the way, Rei owns an iPod Touch. And for those of you who don't know, the Celtic Shelf is a body of water in Northern Europe. Millennian was a last minute choice, replacing Gigan, who will probably appear later on. Kazu and Rei (my favourite protagonist) reappear here, rescued by the BakuSenshi, who appear in their battle suits for the first time - this was inspired by _Power Rangers_. The new acronym for MOGUERA was designed keeping in mind that Godzilla hasn't appeared yet, these are prototype anti-kaiju weapons, so 'Expert' would seem stupid, and Aeronaut just sounds cooler than Aero-type. All of the kaiju's attacks, normal and PAIN, have names. And yes, Godzilla _is _immune to electricity - he was surprised by the sparks so he let go of Millennian's tentacles. Orga _will_ make an appearance - whether or not he _is _Millennian, you'll have to wait and see. Zilla's origin is referenced to both the recap and in Destoroya and Millennian's conversation.


	9. The Sea Warriors' Debut!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><em>Recap - Discovering they are held at Atlantis, in the Celtic Shelf, Kazu and Rei are forced hostage by the new enemy, the alien monster Millennian. The GDF's anti-kaiju MOGUERA units prove to be no match for Millennian, who is defeated by Zilla's Flame Breath PAIN attack and is bit by Godzilla before he escapes. Meanwhile the BakuSenshi take out the GDF's soldiers and Ryo rescues Kazu and Rei. Later, it is revealed to Millennian that his attack did not go under Ghidorah's radar as he planned due to Destoroya informing Ghidorah.<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Eight**-

海の戦士のデビュー! The Sea Warriors' Debut!

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza, Tokyo City<em>

_2025._

So far, no one had noticed that the 'hostages' had vanished, even a day after the attack - right now, all the attention was focused on who the BakuSenshi were and how they could affect anti-kaiju warfare. Several people were crowding around the display of a Sony store, watching the news channel on the TVs on display.

"The MOGUERA units from the battle of yesterday had short-circuited from the effects of Millennian's tentacles' shock power, and are currently undergoing repair. Will we have to give up our only protection against kaiju? Happily, no. Yesterday's mess also revealed a trio dressed in strange suits who appeared to have superhuman powers. Identifying themselves as BakuSenshi - which can be interpreted as 'Explosive Soldiers' - they made several outrageous claims, detailed by my associate Domon Yu. This is Takeda Haruna signing out, and you're watching M-4 News."

The woman disappeared, replaced by a forty-ish man in a baggy suit and polka-dotted tie. "Thank you, Haruna. Domon Yu here live at City Plaza. Our most interesting factor is that while these BakuSenshi had superhuman powers, like moving at high speeds and exhibiting unusually high jumping abilities, they did claim to be human." A short clip played beside him, detailing Ryo in his black BakuSenshi suit speaking to Hiroyama. "We are human," he said. "We are the BakuSenshi. We were chosen to fight the kaiju."

"What a load of nonsense," Domon said as the clip cut off. "But could it be true? Especially after this." Another clip began, this one showing Yamato and Zilla performing their PAIN move, the Flame Breath. "Let's call these BakuSenshi after their colours for simplicity's sake. Grey showed control over this kaiju. Why not over Millennian? Over King Ghidorah, the lightning dragon who caused havoc just three days ago? The BakuSenshi might have exerted their control over _all _kaiju who have rampaged worldwide for the past five years. These vigilantes, for lack of a better word, could be the masterminds behind a conspiracy to achieve - what? What could their true goal be if this theory is proved right? I personally believe there's something suspicious about the BakuSenshi. But I'm not important - _you_, the viewer, are. What do _you _think? SMS theory space kaiju to 813-444-200 and _you _could be on this show, presenting _your _view! This is Domon Yu signing off for today on M-4 News." A commercial for a soda began, and gradually people began to drift away.

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island<em>

_2025._

"Bloody hell! Is that guy serious?" Yamato sent a soda can flying across the Rynthe from his chair at the widescreen TV, which hit the power button with perfect aim. "Senile old geezer."

"People only go senile when they're older than sixty, I think. This 'geezer' doesn't look a day over forty." Sakura popped a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "Forty centuries, that is. He's a spaz, I swear."

Ryo got up from the recliner. "Come on. They should be coming through in a minute," he said, watching the tube entrance, referring to Rei and Kazu, who were gong through the whole explanation with Achilles. Sure enough, Rodan flew up the tube with Kazu, Rei and Achilles on her back.

"Ryo, Yamato." Kazu dismounted, walking to his sons. "I ... I couldn't care for you properly. I let Destoroya capture me, without putting up a fight. I left you alone ..." Then he suddenly laughed. "And I should do it more often! Look at you! I get kidnapped for two days and you start beating up GDF officers on your own! You've grown, boys - you're no longer just kids. You're young men now - young men with nerves of steel!"

"**Yeah, yeah, get on with it. Do you want to meet your partner or not?**" Achilles interrupted. Rei answered with a nod. "Yeah, come on. Let's get it over with."

Rei, Kazu and Achilles, in that order, stepped through the door. Ryo, Yamato and Sakura followed a second later.

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island<em>

_2025._

This time, the place was different - they were on a boat, at a pier somewhere at one of the tips of the island.

"**Welcome to Lazuli Cove, 'lubbers,**" Achilles exclaimed, "**and that seaworthy gal there be called the _Lady Rodan_ - and she's called that only because her namesake, ah, threatened to eat me if I called her the _Lord Achilles_. But today, we ain't going nere her, no sir. We're gonna stay right here until - ah, here they come! Who's first, me lads?**"

"I'll do it," Kazu said, adding under his breath, "if only to shut you up."

"Sorry to disappoint you, _Otousan_, but that's the one thing he can't do," Yamato whispered back.

"**I'll need your full name, first.**"

"Suzuka Kazuto," Kazu offered.

"**Suzuka Kazuto, BakuSenshi. Meet your partner, Gamera, the one of the elements, he who uses fire, water and air.**"

A gigantic wave swelled up, about twenty metres away, building up, then sweeping down, washing over the body of Gamera. The kaiju's appearance could be summed up in three words - 'humungous', 'turtle' and 'tusks'. The huge chelonian rose to about eighty metres tall and sported two six-metre sabertoothed tusks that sliced up from his lower jaw. His eyes were brutally intelligent, glowing with green fire. His very essence seemed to be contained in the symbol on his chest, a large cross which tapered outwards at the vertical edges and had three horizontal lines instead of one.

"Gamera's the name," rumbled Gamera. "You are Kazuto, I take it."

"That's right," Kazu replied, still awestruck with his partner's size.

"**Next up, come on. Full name?**"

Rei stepped up. "Akane Reikido," he muttered.

"**Akane Reikido, BakuSenshi. Meet your partner, Manda, the one of legends, he who wrecks seacraft.**"

First, nothing. Then, a second later, a ripple arose, about twenty metres away. A greater one, just about fifteen metres away. Then, the barest, sharp tip of something ten metres away. Suddenly, something rose upwards at the edge of the dock. A gigantic Chinese dragon, a perfect replica of the one tattooed on Rei's left arm, towering upto 80 metres tall, burst from the water. His icy blue eyes were cold and emotionless. Long, flowing three metre-long barbed spikes arose at certain points on his body and three pairs of fins, each about fifteen metres apart, were held absolutely still. Rei rubbed his left arm, right on the dragon's tail. The resemblance between the sea serpent and the dragon was uncanny.

"**Well! It looks like both of our new BakuSenshi have water-based kaiju. This calls for one thing - a nickname!**" Achilles thought for a second, before speaking. "**Got it. From now on you guys and your partners are ...**

**... the _Sea Warriors_**.****"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Originally this chapter was about Gozilla battling an old foe who returned (Megalon), but I eventually dropped it, deciding to instead focus on Kazu and Rei's introduction to the BakuSenshi world. The title stems from both Manda and Gamera being aquatic reptiles, a snake/sea serpent and a turtle. Manda looks similar to the Final Wars Manda and Gamera looks like in this "http:/www*deviantart*com/download/129172736/Gamera_by_ShinLeeJin" (image NOT made by me) but with dark blue, not teal, skin and the Gamera symbol from _Gamera the Brave_ etched on his chest in light red - you'll now how it looks if you've seen the movie. 81 is Japan's country code and 03 is Tokyo's area code. The intro scene showed what people think of BakuSenshi mostly right now. Manda's roar is here at "http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=gyrNhyb-qDU" and Gamera's roar is the first one over at "http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=8qKv57ZFY9o". Manda's exact length is 143 metres and his fins morph into legs on land. There's nothing much left to note about the chapter_, _so I'll drop this little spoiler for you, the reason Destoroya smelled radiation on Millennian: when Godzilla bit Millennian's tentacles, some of his radiation leaked into Millennian (who, by the way, is a genetically altered alien animal, considered a failure and jettisoned into space only to land on Earth in the late tenth century, awakening in the twenty-first century and keeping a low profile), who through a strange quirk, also received a tiny piece of Godzilla's DNA - namely, the cell that gives him his endurance - the cell which could be called a Regenerator ...


	10. Combat Training

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

_Recap - Due to the rumours spread by Domon Yu, a newscaster, the public begins to believe that the BakuSenshi might be able to control the evil kaiju too. Meanwhile on Monster Island, Achilles introduces Kazu and Rei to their partners. Rei is joint with the vicious loner, the sea serpent Manda and Kazu's new partner is the fierce soldier, the warrior turtle Gamera.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Nine-**

戦闘訓練 Combat Training

* * *

><p><em>Hatchery, Biotechnological Research Complex, Atlantis.<em>

_2025 - Ten months ago_

`We've recovered another, Doctor,` Destoroya rumbled. `An unborn radiated gecko egg. At the temperature we found it - it was in a blast furnace in a factory in Bangladesh - it should have fried, but the yolk appeared to have seeped out and formed a slime coating to protect itself. It's nowhere near hatching time and I doubt if the embryo would survive the combination of heat and radiation.`

He was standing in a huge metallic laboratory, dimly lit to emphasize the burgundy glow of large stacks of egg-like items in spheres, conversing with a silhoutted kaiju.

`It's dead,` the 'Doctor', a shadowed, rasping figure about 70 metres tall, replied. He was chunky, with wedge like arms that spawned several slim, long tendril-fingers, each simultaneously typing on keyboards, drawing charts, or tapping a touch-screen. The Doctor's bulbuous head split, forming two large semi-spherical structures, each possesing a single, goat-eyed, bloodred pupil. His voice was more of a vibrating series of sounds than true words spoken from a mouth, a facility he didn't possess. `But valuable. I could work a seven-month extractive transplant, plus a month and a half for treating any possible genetic malfunctions and adjusting brain patterns. However,` he fixed Destoroya with a meaningful glare, `I will not work with human samples. What we need is a cyborg kaiju, not an android. I fully intend to use myself as the donor for Experiment 24496-B. Tell that to Ghidorah-sama.`

As Destoroya strode out of the door, he heard his name called. `Destoroya. Also tell Ghidorah-sama this: while kaiju are well available, and in great numbers, the humans will still feel the BakuSenshi are failing to keep them down.` As if his message wasn't strange enough, the Doctor added a cryptic mutter. `A perfect distraction with an interesting reaction.`

* * *

><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis.<em>

_2025_

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

`Ah, Doctor.` Ghidorah ceased clacking his toe-claws. `Experiment 24496-B, alias The Spawn. I presume you have it ready.` His left head flexed in anticipation.

`Hai.`The Doctor stepped out, for the first time, revealing himself. His entire body was deep purple, twisted and pulpy, like raw, aged bone marrow. His horizontal red pupils glowed, staring through, not at, anything that fell under their ugly gaze. His tendrilous fingers spiralled and merged, forming various shapes for single instants, before morphing into new ones. `The Spawn is hatched and grown but unable to make, ahem, intelligent speech. It is still in a primitive stage. The nanotechnology I implanted makes sure we can control those parts but the reflexes, the major thinking processes - those are all still under the control of the organic brain.`

`Tell me. How strong is this Spawn?`Millennian whistled, cutting in with interest.

A horizontal slit appeared, below the Doctor's eyes, curling, like a mouth, into a sinister smirk. `How could you, Millenian, doubt the strength of one possessing genetic treatment from the DNA of the great Doctor of Atlantis himself? You, who were once my - ah-how-shall-I-put? - my noobish apprentice? A rookie scientist, but a scientist nevertheless?`

Millennian's neon purple eyes attained a reddish, embarrassed colour for a second before reverting. `Of course, Doctor. I do apologise for my impudence.`

`Your sincere apology is accepted. But now, Ghidorah-sama, let us move on! As I said, some parts are still organic. I haven't worked out all the kinks yet. The Spawn's base is a swarm of techno-organic nanites in a rigid, set form except for the upper limbs, forming a layer over an organicast - using a robot body would create unecessary complications in the future. I set the entire body in my image, then implanted nanotechnology which linked to the brain, through nanite-filled nerves, and the computer in the control centre in the Biotechnological Research Complex, via Generation Eighteen Bluetooth Wireless Communication. Ghidorah-sama, I present to you, the artificial life, my cyborg masterpiece - THE SPAWN!`

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<em>

_2025_

"**OK, so I know you guys want to go back home to Tokyo but** -" Achilles began, but Sakura cut in.

"Nuh-u. Not me and Rei. He's supposed to _live_ with me and my family doesn't bloody give a damn if I have a heart stroke or if I disappear."

"Well, old man, we have a _life_, you understand? We can't afford to sit around beating up monsters. I have a nice job with a nice location in a nice city - and you just came in and stole my whole life!" Kazu roared at Achilles.

"**That's just your life - this is your _destiny_! And who'rya calling old man?**"

"Destiny schmestiny, get outta my way. Rodan, help me out. I am going home with my sons and this shithead gotta get outta my way."

Rodan shook her head. "This is not a matter in which she will take part."

"Nor will we," Mothra added, much to the surprise of both humans and kaiju.

"What's all the shit about?" Godzilla roared, entering the argument suddenly. "Can't I even eat my Icthyosaurus _sushi_ in peace?"

"**Red bean sauce or pea curry sides?**" Achilles ventured.

Godzilla glared at him. "My sides are gonna be your bone marrow if you don't shut up!"

Achilles promptly shut up.

"Ryo," Yamato whispered to his brother, "I think your partner scares the ass off Achilles."

Godzilla, still chewing, flexed his neck, causing a loud creak, then cracked his knuckles. "Ready for the training, _ningen_?" he growled roughly.

"What?" Rei looked interested. "Combat sims?"

"**I put together a set of personalized training sims with 3D and lazer-touch interface**," Achilles explained, and would have continued explaining how he built each and every string of code if Godzilla hadn't given him a warning look. "**Ah, well, see for yourself.**" He spoke to the computer. "**Computer, open folder Combat Training Simulations from Local Disk C, open to folder Level One, and executable files , , , , and . Open on systems LINKINPARK, RIHANNA, **30SECONDS2MARS**, DISTURBED and FAREASTMOVEMENT. Oh, and add some background music.**

"**Guys, into the simrooms, please.**" Achilles waved at the rooms behind the row of computers.

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<em>

_2025_

"Training, ha!" scoffed Kazu. "You called that measly bunch 'SWAT Team' and the big lobster "Crustaceous Rex"? _Come on_!"

"The lobster fried in an instant," Yamato added.

"It wasss deliciousss," Manda hissed.

"How could you eat a training sim?" Sakura asked in interest.

"The SWATs must've been loaded with blanks 'cause we didn't even lose a single hit point," Godzilla said gruffly. "What a bore."

"**Oh, come on, that was Level One and there are another 86 more! And even _I _can't force the comp to skip levels without rewriting the whole thing,**" Achilles protested. "**Get back in, you're doing upto Level Twenty-five _at least_ today.**" His face darkned suddenly. "**Or maybe not. Get ready. Kaiju at Shiba Arcade - a walking slimeball. We picked up his radiation levels and they're amazingly low, but he's loaded with power. I suspect it's the Opressor's lead scientist - he's a mangy old monster. Okay, guys, get ready. Teleporter initializing. 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... go!**"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Kudos to anyone who can figure out who the Doctor really is. He's not a new guy or even a half-redesigned guy - he's an old, famous cur who was nearly invincible back in the day of Showa. I've split the story into four to six 13-chapter arcs (like a TV series' seasons) and arc one 'Beginnings' ends in chapter twelve. Arc two is called 'Unravelings', by the way. Achilles' computers are _all_ named after bands, not just the five he named. The background music is actually each character's theme song.

Ryo/Godzilla: http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM - Breaking the Habit  
>SakuraMothra: http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=_CH3jb39Qu8 - Only Girl (in the World)  
>YamatoZilla: http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=acIU7yxzJ70 - Attack  
>ReiManda: http:/www*youtube*com/watch?v=kNcLi267oEo - Asylum  
>KazuGamera: http:/www*youtube*com*watch?v=w4s6H4ku6ZY - Like A G6


	11. It Came From The Slime!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

_Recap - The Opressors' scientist, the mysterious Doctor, creates a mutant kaiju by assembling techno-organic nanites over an organicast using nanotechnology. The mutant, codenamed 'The Spawn', a primitive brute cyborg, is unleashed upon Tokyo City's Shiba Arcade, just after the BakuSenshi complete a combat training program. The battle will begin again ... or will it?  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Ten-**

これは、スライムから来た! It Came From The Slime!

* * *

><p><em>Shiba Company Gaming Arcade, Tokyo City.<br>_

_2025  
><em>

Screams of "Monster! Monster!", "It's attacking!" and even just "AAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEE!" rang out from every single corner of the Shiba Arcade. The building was in ruins and people, covered in a black tar-like substance, ran in every direction - but no one knew from what.

Rei used the touchpad on his left wrist to switch his visor mode from infrared scan to density scan, and raised the size to the maximum, but still couldn't detect the kaiju. All the hits were shown in shades of yellow, orange or red depending on how closely it matched the defined terms. There were pale yellows and oranges but no dark oranges or even light red. He switched to radiation sensors as a last resort. As expected, everything showed up in grey - meaning no hits. He looked around, allowing the visor to take in everything. Finally, he found it - a retreating dash of orange. _Orange_? Achilles had mentioned low radiation levels, but even Manda, a non-irradiated kaiju, showed up as light red. This kaiju - if it didn't even have radiation, what could it be? Achilles' database had files on most Opressor kaiju they knew but none of them showed up as even dark orange, let alone reddish-orange - they were all crimson, except the Doctor, whose file only read _THIS FILE HAS BEEN DELETED._

The second-oldest BakuSenshi set the visor back to normal mode and turned on a slow rock opera song, sitting down while he waited for Achilles to activate the teleporter.

* * *

><p><em>Shiba Company Shipping Warehouse No 034, Old West Wharf, Nagasaki<em>

_2025_

Rei and Sakura were in position, perched on two gargoyles facing each other above the door of the warehouse, with large rucksacks on their shoulders. Ryo was ready with his computer rigged up to the door. Yamato and Kazu, both monitoring the progress of 'Mission Geiger' from Monster Island, were set. It was time.

Ryo opened his mic. "_Ready? The security will be disabled for exactly 35 minutes. Get in, find the slime samples, analyse if time allows, get out. Simple as that. No unecessary risks. No workers should know - there should be none, but if there are, you'll just have to be careful. I'm disabling the motion sensors on the doors in T minus 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - go!_"

Rei pulled a grappling hook off his belt and stuck one end down the gargoyle's throat, before rappeling down the steep wall. As he slowly walked down, he reflected on what had happened - at the island, Achilles was shocked when he saw the radiation-print of the kaiju. There was nothing to indicate what it was. So he set up what he called a 'crime scene', a sort of detective roleplay with high-end tech. After analysing the tar-like substance, he found scales of a certain fish which, again, he traced to being in the area of the port city of Nagasaki - which, coincidentally, was the headquarters of the Shiba Company which owned the arcade attacked. By some deduction, he ended up with a result - the kaiju had left behind the tar trail as it had come from Nagasaki. And the best hiding places in Nagasaki? The Shiba Warehouses.

Swinging back, Rei and Sakura kicked through the door with full strength on the pressure pad and it slid sideways. Both let go of their grappling ropes, landing catlike on the ground. Ryo spoke once again: "_Now, I'm sending a map over to your visor. Make sure to wipe it clean once you're done with it._" A mini-map of the warehouse system opened, and using the touchpad, Rei isolated No 034 and zoomed in. He was represented with a cyan blue dot. Using the map as a guide, he and Sakura split up, covering as much distance as possible, splitting it into quadrants which each one covered, one at a time. They had already spent two hours doing this with Warehouses No 049 through 035, and there was only 034 left. The others were all spread on the other quays.

"_Quadrant A and C are clean,_" Sakura reported.

"_B's clean. D's not,_" Rei said, as he bent to examine a puddle of slime. "_Found a trail of slime. How much time left?_"

"_Not more than 10 minutes. Analyse one bit and bring a large amount for later study,_" Ryo advised.

Rei brought out a test tube pack from his rucksack, along with a sterilised ink filler for a fountain pen. He filled all eight tubes with slime, then plugged them instantly. No air, only slime. He continued to the next puddle and withdrew a small card, 8x8mm, on which he gathered some slime. Rei dropped the card in an airtight box, then did the same with the next puddle, drawing a tiny amount of slime. He had covered four puddles when Ryo reported, "_Get back to the entrance. One minute forty and dropping!_"

Rei abandoned the slime, jumping on a crate of wood and kicking off. Like an acrobat, he hooked his legs around a powered-off tubelight and lowered himself onto the tallest crate, from where he threw a line of grappling rope, hooking one end on the tubelight and the other on a chandelier hanging in front of the entrance. This was a quick but unsteady way to get to the beginnning. On the third try, he hooked the chandelier. Rei tested it for tautness.

"_Forty-seven, forty-six, forty-five - come on!_"

The punk teen paused for a second to examine his tattoo of the Chinese glyph - _greatness_. Sakura had already reached the end and was yelling for him to get down already. Rei braced himself, and, like a professional, ran across the makeshift, taughtened tightrope.

It lasted for exactly twenty-one seconds. As Rei had crossed four-fifths of the tightrope, the tubelight sank and gave way.

"_Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty ..._"

He slipped, but snatched the rope, swinging out the door, ripping the chandelier off its perch. The rope and runner went flying. One survived. The other didn't. The rope caught on a hook and swung back into the warehouse.

_Crunch_.

The warehouse doors shut and Rei's rope snapped.

The teen gazed up at the mangled rope, wondering how it would have felt to be killed so brutally.

"Come on Rei," Sakura said, pulling him. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island. <em>

_2025_

"**Okay, this is a conundrum,**" Achilles said. "**I've analysed the slime and it's _not_ organic. It's not petroleum or coal tar or even diesel. It's artificial - a high-end coating of nanites. Nanites are these tiny little robot critters who can create robots if they gang up, by the way. And these aren't human-created nanites. They're Atlantic technology. These little guys have four-terabyte memory cards in them _per nanite_. That's a lot of memory. And that's not all. The nanites aren't the slime itself, they're just a layer to give rigidity and fluidity to whatever the slime fell off. They're the muscles, so to speak. The bones are the lower layer - an organicast. That's like a frame of memory fabric and latex and other stuff bound together to give a basic shape to the nanites. But when the slime falls off, the nanites are disconnected - only a couple of the nanites are left behind on the slime. Those go 'dead' or permanently offline. This is a complex creature we're looking at. My guess is, the Doctor didn't just find Mr Slimy, he _created_ him. The Doctor's a nanotechnological expert - he specialises in making nanite swarms into weapons, but this Frankenstein here is a first even for him. _Working artificial life_.**"

"So this kaiju is a layer of fake flesh under a layer of mini-machines?" Kazu queried.

"**Absolutely. And these nanites are connected to the brain by fake nerves formed by tiny wires of even more nanites. Mr Slimy's a cyborg.**"

An alarm klaxon blared from the computer. Achilles leapt to it. "**Speaking of Mr Slimy, he's made another appearance. Another place controlled by the Shiba Company - Centennial Mall. Get ready for a battle royale! Teleporter initializing in 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ..."**

* * *

><p><em>Centennial Mall, Tokyo City<em>.

_2025_

Kazu found himself in his suit for the first time. He and Rei both wore slightly different suits from the other BakuSenshi: While the others had white gloves and boots, the Sea Warriors had black gloves and boots with a gold trim. Also, they had no shoulder pads and a large, ornate golden uppercase letter 'S' was inscribed on their chests, made to resemble a wave. Plus, they had weapon like adornments - Kazu had a spike extending from his elbows which could be removed and reattached, while Rei's forearms had several sharp barbs which lay flat until he set off a trigger by making a fast outward chop.

The BakuSenshi were riding their partners. Godzilla snorted. `Come on, shithead! Get out and fight like a true kaiju! Or are you just a broken down steam engine?`

A loud, trumpeting, mechanized roar answered him, and a kaiju about a hundred feet tall moved out of the mall, walking in a way one could only a describe as a drunken stagger. The cyborg was covered in black slime from head to toe, with a bluish-purple glow around the slime. His eyes were red, blank, pupilless slits which stayed absolutely still, never moving, creating a mindless, robotic impression. His arms couldn't be defined as arms - they were jointed chunks of slime which split into thousands of sinister tendrilous fingers. His body seemed to be like a prize boxer's - lean, taut with tight muscles and six-pack abs, glowing with malevolent purple veins.

`Spaahn naut steem enjahn,` was the cyborg's drawling, befuddled reply.

"_I think he said he's not a steam engine,_" Sakura translated, having been tutored by Mothra in understanding bits of kaiju language. "_And he's called 'spaahn', or whatever he said._"

"_'Spaahn'? Maybe 'Spawn', like that comic book character?_" Yamato replied. He signalled everyone to get off their partners in case the fight begun early. They made huge leaps, jumping effortlessly onto the rooftop of the mall.

Hearing his name, the Spawn looked up. `Spawn eiz ghiller kyaijoo,` he growled.

`No, you are _not_ a killer kaiju, yo,` Zilla grinned. `You are dead, is what you are, yo. Try my tail crash!` He swung his tail sharply, cracking it like a whip and then slamming it into the Spawn. The slime creature merely extended a couple dozen tendrils and snatched Zilla's tail, twisting it rapidly. The giant iguana screamed in agony.

`He's not as dumb as he talks, huh?` Gamera grunted. `Well, lemme see what my fire can do to you. Burn that organicast off you, maybe?" He raised a forearm and a large, blunt tusk-like thing slid out, which he pulled straight out. A burning line extended from it. Gamera slashed at the Spawn with the fire-sword, but the cyborg moved as if everyone else was in slow motion. His eyes glowed and he belched a large burst of smog at the sword, extinguishing it, then headbutted Gamera so that the warrior turtle fell backwards.

`Foul beast of sludge! You shall not pollute this good world!` Mothra proclaimed, and turned her body so her whole body faced the Spawn. A zig-zagging line of rainbow coloured energy shot at the Spawn and he cried out, `Haarts,` ('hurts'), but suddenly extended his tendrils, so both arms' tendrils formed a shield, redirecting the beam into Mothra, who was sent flying with her own power.

`My turn, shithead!` Godzilla's mouth opened fully, and a red sphere collected. `Can your slime protect ya from my Atomic Ray?` A beam of red with white spirals around it exploded, smashing into the Spawn. For the first time, he was actually hit for more than a second. The full force of Godzilla's Atomic Ray froze him in place, unable to move. He began to - _smoke_? No - more of his smog was unleashed and streamed towards Godzilla. For fear of inhaling the smog, Godzilla stopped his ray, instead releasing a deep breath that blew away the smog.

`My friendsss might have failed to injure you,` Manda whispered, slowly slithering towards the Spawn. `But your desssstiny issss to be ssslain by me, Manda of the depthsss!` He suddenly raised his barbed tail, slicing into the Spawn's hide. Rapidly, he whipped his tail, slashing the Spawn repeatedly, and randomly. With another swift - or, as he would say, 'sssswift' - move, he opened his mouth. `We shall sssee if your poissson isss a match for mine!` The sea serpent vomited a burst of purple, gunky acid all over the Spawn, who screamed, taken aback at the merciless speed of Manda's offense.

"Bond ... partner ... friend. Rei, shall we dessstroy thisss Ssspawn?" Manda looked almost _hungry_, as if he lived on blood.

"Do it," Rei said, looking interested, finally. He jumped to Manda's head. "Execute PAIN!" both Manda and Rei shouted in unison.

"**Spiral Wave**, _hyaa_!" Manda rapidly coiled around the Spawn, and both teen and serpent transformed into a whirlpool that slammed, buffetted and hammered away at the Spawn. In the midst of the chaotic attack, the Spawn screamed and vanished in a black vortex. The whirlpool ceased, morphing back to the two partners.

"The job's done," Rei grinned, "and I feel ... alive."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Come on, let's have a big hand for reader and reviewer Prototron MJ Tornada, who guessed who the Doctor really is! Was it really that easy? Did I drop too many hints? Well, anyway, I won't spoil the surprise for those who don't read the reviews. This chapter is finally based around Rei, the lone wolf. We get to see some action and mystery, a la _Indiana Jones_ - wait, what am I saying? I don't even like _Indiana Jones_! The crime scene set up was because I've been playing too much _Arkham Asylum_. Manda's badassness is seen for the first time - he's a random, bloodthirsty ol' snake, sort of like the Spawn. Now, a (seemingly) random question: Do we have any Spider-Man fans out there who're reading this? Do any of you remember Ultimate Venom? Well, the Doctor is similar to him, but the Spawn - hell, he looks like him, he acts like him, he even rampages like him! The Spawn's colour scheme is similar to that of Ultimate Venom and the Venom from the Spider-Man Animated Series, black with bluish-purple shading on the outlines of his body, and purple veins all over his muscle-bound abs and 'ceps. Unfortunately, no forked, snakey tongue, just a sharp strip of red flesh. But he does have the same ugly old spiky mouth! So what the Spawn basically is is a 90-foot-tall Ultimate Venom without a forked tongue and a working brain. Yay for mad slime monsters!


	12. The Big Bad Wolf

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

_Recap - An analysis of some slime Rei collects from the Shiba Company warehouses in Nagasaki reveals that the mystery slime monster that attacked Tokyo is a cyborg. The Sea Warriors go into action to battle the Spawn in Tokyo. However, the cyborg monster easily defeats Zilla, Mothra, Gamera and Godzilla. It's Manda and Rei's time to shine as they defeat the Spawn with a chain of successful attacks. However, the Spawn escapes. Now, something evil is brewing ...  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Eleven-**

生き霊 DOPPELGANGER - ARC ONE FINALE

Part One: 大悪い狼 The Big Bad Wolf

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<em>

_2025 - Two weeks ago  
><em>

"**Well done guys, you've cracked through Level Eight and Nine in a single twenty-minute session each!**" Achilles welcomed the exhausted subjects of his combat training. "**Now gimme a quick runthrough of Levels Two to Nine's bosses**"

"SWAT teams for all levels upto three and GDF rookies from five," Sakura began.

"Giant squids for two," Yamato muttered.

"The sphinx for three," Ryo said, tiredly.

"A bunch of mental bats for four," added Kazu.

Dispassionately, Rei said, "The mutant earthworm for five, the rhino beetle for six and the giant rhino for seven."

"And eight was the sniper with a cannon arm. Nine was the octopus. Good work. Now go get some sleep. Hiroyama's been elected the Director of the GDF now, remember? He'll be a thorn in your side if you try dealing with any Opressors, so you need your rest," Achilles persuaded. "Besides, you've been BakuSenshi for a whole week and dealt soundly with Millennian and the Spawn as well as thrashed my training sims. Good work, team."

* * *

><p><em>GDF Headquarters (ex-UN HQ), New York City.<em>

_2025 - Ten days ago  
><em>

"To conclude with today's officialities, I would like to call on stage, the new face of the Global Defense Force, Lieutenant-General Hiroyama Kosuke, for his promotion to Head Director of the GDF."

Hiroyama rose from his seat. As he strode towards the podium, thoughts echoed in his head. This was the day he had been working towards, every second of his nineteen years in the GDF. Every rookie's dream. A four-year term as the Director of the GDF. And it had been fulfilled.

As he entered the podium, one final thought entered his head. Operation Doppelganger. It made him smile. The greatest anti-kaiju weapon, that had caused the MOGUERA units' reparation to be sidelined. He would pilot this one himself. No more failures, no more mistakes. The Silent Men could handle the making of the next wave of Doppelgangers.

It was time for the grandmaster of anti-kaiju warfare to take centre stage.

* * *

><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis.<em>

_2025 - Six days ago  
><em>

`The Spawn is still unready for battle,` the Doctor growled, as Millennian floated in. `Has Destoroya got enough preparation time or does he require another week?`

`There is no need for him to continue what the humans now call Operation Doppelganger. A more capable man than Mr Toda has become the Director of the GDF. Our old friend, Hiroyama Kosuke.`

The Doctor's mouth twisted into a grin. `Ah, yes. He of the false leg and hard heart. Remind me of the old story, would you?`

Millennian laugh-whistled. `When Ghidorah-_sama_ attacked Nagoya five years ago, at the time before the division of sides, Hiroyama was not a youngling nor a senile old man. Rather, more of a confused, soul-searching idiot. He was attempting to find a job and he was in Nagoya, chewing on his chopsticks, waiting for someone to discover his talent for being an absolute fool, when Ghidorah-_sama_ burst in on the scene. Hiroyama was a GDF trainee, failing to do anything of use, until Ghidorah-_sama_ got him to make up his mind by killing his entire squadron - leaving him alive as an example. Ghidorah-_sama_ once said, he looked into the man's eyes and found a kindred soul, one who could be of use to us in the future, but could not tell what the man was at first glance, and so left him.`

`A tale for a long night indeed. Well, has Operation Doublegun been completed on our side?`

`Yes.`

Both Millennian and the Doctor laughed sinisterly. It was time for the grandmaster of all wars to take the stage by storm.

* * *

><p><em>GDF Japan HQ, Tokyo City.<br>_

_2025 - Present day  
><em>

Tachibana Daisuke was handsome, twenty-six and often talked about. He was tall - nearly five foot eight - and hefty but short compared to his boss. His dark brown hair was always neatly in place and his suit in perfect condition. A pair of wide-rimmed, oversized, blue-tinted shades were always perched over his Roman nose. The man was ever impeccable. And even more powerful, now that he had been promoted to General.

"Rin! You're doing it again!"

"Shit! Was I?"

Asuka Rin [飛鳥凛] dropped her gaze to the computer on which she was writing her report, hastily shoving the GDF employee website's profile picture of Tachibana into her handbag. She was, admittedly, an year younger than Tachibana. And her appearance was totally different: the dark-haired woman looked geeky in her magenta-rimmed rectangular glasses, and somewhat slob-ish in her unironed, coffee-stained white Gap T-shirt and _unintentionally_ ripped jeans. And she was just under five foot six. But Tachibana was just so _smooth_ ...

"_Rin_!"

Rin blinked - her vision of herself minus the geekiness in a white kimono evaporated. Turning to her 'vision-breaker', mentor, co-worker and best friend Naomi Tate, she gave her a grin. "Sorry, I'm working you overtime today. You know, something big's going on today in the conference room today at 10 AM. I saw Tachibana come in at around 8:45, about forty or fifty minutes ago, and a bunch of other guys - mainly high-ranking GDF West Asia officers. The big MG-1 summit's here, right - they've all been invited."

Naomi, a twenty-nine-year-old Canadian, snorted. "'MG-1'. Hah! What're they gonna do with another MOGUERA? In my opinion, those guys don't know what they're bloody doing." The brunette was always dressed in the same style - a monochrome halter top with jeans and red wristbands, adding a sweater if it got too cold. She had a very high opinion of kaiju. Her husband, Dr David Tate, was a well-known kaiju expert(colloquially known as a 'kaizoologist') who had recently developed a theory stating that exposure to radiation levels, contrary to what most people believed, actually super-advanced the mental processes of kaiju, causing their intelligence to rocket up to above IQ-120, which was considered Mensa material in humans.

Just then, a swarthy, dark-haired man with a goatee entered. "Hey, Rin. They need you in the con roomi to operate the recording equipment."

"Okay, thanks Naren." Rin rose.

Naren, her co-worker, flashed her a thumbs-up. "If you ever need a favour from an engineer, just ask Naren Basu."

* * *

><p><em>GDF Japan HQ, Tokyo City.<br>_

_2025_

At 1 PM, Rin walked out of the conference room. She looked shell-shocked as she sat down next to Naomi, who mutely handed her a cup of foaming espresso.

"Hiroyama's mad," she finally said, after five long minutes. "He's got the mecha engineers under his control completely. They're all pawns. That guy just wants to wipe out kaiju entirely - even the good ones, the ones that worked with the BakuSenshi. He feels that one of them is especially powerful and built this mecha in its image. Hiroyama's mad, I'm telling you. He's got a damn cannon in the thing's mouth! There's a weapon in its chest which freezes the kaiju opponent so it can't support its own weight and it destroys itself!"

Naomi's eyes widened. "Shit! That's powerful!"

"Wait till you see what he calls the damn thing."

"What?"

Rin laughed, somewhat hysterically. "That's a damn evil name, I tell you. He calls that thing ...

"MechaGodzilla."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> And so begins the grand finale of Arc One! The office scene was fun to right - the geek with a crush on Tachibana, Rin and her practical mentor Naomi, our new characters, will recur as secondary characters. Naren might not, though. He's a Bengali - for those who don't know, a Bengali is a person from the east Indian state of West Bengal. Hiroyama returns, and he is revealed as our first human villain. Of course, one man doesn't make the whole GDF evil, but he could, when he's the one in charge. Director Hiroyama is now arguably the sole most powerful man in the GDF (mainly because I haven't thought up anyone more powerful). And General Tachibana? What about him and the Silent Men? What's their great secret? Why has repairing the MOGUERA units been sidelined? And, above all, what's the Director plotting? All these questions and more will be answered in the epic three-part finale DOPPELGANGER!

And before I leave, here's the name for the next part of DOPPELGANGER, minus the last word: 野獣の名前は..., or "The Beast's Name is ..."


	13. The Beast's Name is MechaGodzilla

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twelve-**

生き霊 DOPPELGANGER - ARC ONE FINALE

Part Two: 野獣の名前はメカゴジラです The Beast's Name is MechaGodzilla

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza, Tokyo City.<em>

_2025_

The Doctor surveyed the ruined plaza impassively. `Hmph. Millennian, I hope you remembered to plant what you were ordered in the right place.`

Millennian, hovering about ten metres away, replied, `Of course. The part you gave me, the locator chip, was put into the first truck I saw which said Shiba Supplies.`

The Doctor grinned. `Then, the part would be sent via plane to Nagasaki, where it would be stored in the shipping warehouses for two days before being sent to Silicon Valley, California. In the warehouse, the Spawn added our specialised command override and redirector chips. The machinery was shipped back after two weeks and four days, in the form of the final product, a bit less than a week before the MG-1 summit commenced. And now, MechaGodzilla is ready for action.`

`But what the humans don't know ...`Millennian began, sounding malicious.`... is that our implanted chips allow the Doctor to control MechaGodzilla when he wishes.`

The Doctor smiled humourlessly. `Now, the BakuSenshi should be here in a while. We've been here for a couple of minutes already and there are news helicopters above us.`

Indeed, a familiar roar sounded, followed by four others in unison. Godzilla, Mothra, Zilla, Gamera and Manda stepped out of the teleporter-vortexes.

"Two kaiju?" Ryo said worriedly. "Millennian we know, but who's that guy? He sort of looks like the Spawn." He and the other BakuSenshi appeared on the crumbling roof of the plaza.

The Doctor bowed mockingly. "I am the Doctor of the Kaiju Supremacy Association, your most worthy opponent."

"Mothra and Gamera should handle this one," Godzilla growled. He was the unspoken leader of the BakuSenshi, due to his size and power - he could easily outwrestle all the other kaiju, except maybe Gamera. "You guys didn't have a chance to beat someone up."

Gamera stepped up to Millennian. `Come on, Space Face. Bring it on!`

Millennian whistled angrily. `Shut up and fight like a monster!` He unleashed his yellow paralysing breath on Gamera, who merely roared, unleashing a torrentious wind that blew the paralyse breath back on Millennian. The jellyfish-like creature froze in place, taking on a sparking aura. Gamera drew his glowing flame swords and performed a complex combination of strikes and slashes on Millennian, who jerkily tried to evade but failed.

As the aura died, the giant turtle 'sheathed' his sabers, replacing them into his elbows. They clicked down, so that only the tusk-like handle could be seen. This too retracted in a second. Gamera opened his mouth, revealing two sharp long canines and front teeth that closely resembled blunt spikes, and bit down on Millennian's head, unleashing flames from his mouth. The flame bite was released after a second, and Millennian scream-whistled in agony.

Gamera grunted, "You've seen the power of my wind-powered roar, my flaming offenses and my aquatic body. Now watch, as I bring these talents together!" Kazu's eyes widened for a second, then he smiled. Gamera withdrew his limbs and tail, firing air out from the holes as he fell horizontally to propel himself upwards into a floating form. Kazu jumped, landing on Gamera's horizontal shell. Both shouted in unison: "Execute Pain! **Plasma Emission_, _**_hyaa_!"

Gamera's chest symbol glowed red, and flaming spirals of energy shot out replacing the air propellers. He began to rotate furiously, and smashed into Millennian with full, burning force. Millennian crackled and sparked, then vanished, retreating into a vortex.

Meanwhile, Mothra was having a hard time with the Doctor, who appeared to be extremely resilient. Mothra's powerful gale-blowing wings didn't seem to affect him and he shrugged them off like a breeze.

The Doctor moved, suddenly and swiftly. "My turn," he hissed, raising his arm. The tendrils sprouted and merged into a huge drill appendage, which began rotating instantly. The Doctor slammed the drill into Mothra, who shrieked in pain.

The ink-like beast laughed maliciously. "Does it hurt?" he whispered. "Does it slice your marrow? Does it touch your puny nerves? Does it?" His malevolent excitement was barely contained. "Yes, scream. Scream! Scream and reveal my power -" He broke off in mid sentence, and his drill vanished into tendrils, as Godzilla lumbered forward. "Mothra!" Sakura shouted, leaping to the side of her partner kaiju.

"Come on, maggot face," Godzilla growled. "I invoke Final Strike."

The Doctor looked dumbfounded. "You would invoke Final Strike?"

Mothra, who had collapsed to the ground, whispered, "No ... no, my friend! You must not invoke it ... it is too dangerous ..."

"Damn right I would, and I have."

The Doctor began to laugh. "Final Strike it is, then, my foe. You may go first."

Gamera looked worried. "Crap," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Final Strike. Big G invoked Final Strike."

"What _is_ Final Strike?" asked Kazu.

"Final Strike is a damn dangerous combat ritual. When two kaiju want to resolve a dispute, they invoke Final Strike. It's an ancient method of solving problems - the violent way. One kaiju is decided to go first. He hits the other with his most devastating attack. If his opponent is able to, he responds with _his_ most powerful attack. Then it repeats. So these two keep giving the other their worst. They go on like it till someone collapses - or worse, dies."

Godzilla, meanwhile, cracked his knuckles and neck. His eyes began to glow blue, and he took on a matching aura. A crimson energy circle formed around him. As he roared, it enlarged, exploding in a limited-range pulse. The Doctor was thrown backwards against the ruined building.

The glow faded from the saurian's eyes, and he took a deep breath. With a shock, Ryo realised that the pulse had severely depleted Godzilla's power - and his own. His legs went numb and wobbly.

The Doctor twitched in pain, before he raised a hand. The drill once more formed, but this time it was larger and spun faster. With a muffled, raspy growl, he drove the drill into Godzilla's abdomen. Godzilla growled for a second ...

... then spoke. "Come on, you shithead. Is that the best you can do?"

The Doctor howled in rage, a horrible noise that sounded like a dying cat's shriek. His red eyes began to glow.

"That's cheating, yo!" Zilla protested. "He can't strike now, it's Godzilla's turn!"

Manda hissed in anger. "Let me at him!"

Mothra rose, Sakura on her back. "By the just power vested in me as a honourable kaiju of this earth, I warn you to cease your unfair actions!" Mothra commanded.

The Doctor merely continued howling.

"If that's the way you like it," Sakura began. "Then face our righteous wrath!"

Mothra and Sakura both spoke simultaneously. "Execute PAIN! **Solar Bolt**, _hyaa_!"

Mothra's antennae collected glowing orbs of golden energy, which then merged and fired as a single, jagged golden blast. It pierced the Doctor's back and he crumpled into a heap. A vortex formed around him, and he vanished.

Achilles spoke over the mic. "**_Guys, bad news. Hiroyama's here. In a mecha. There are SWAT teams behind and, of course, the Silent Men._**

"**_But the main thing is, he's here to fight _you_._**"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> For the umpteenth time, everyone's favourite manmade mecha-kaiju is in the zone! Say hi to Operation Doppelganger's final product: MechaGodzilla! Now on to the real author's notes. The recap has been removed as chapters 11-13 are meant to be read as a single, free-flowing story and not as separate chapters. The line where it says Godzilla might not be able to outwrestle Gamera is a reference to the fact that Godzilla and Gamera have never met in a movie. Finally, a quick timeline:

Chapters 1-5 (according to FF, 2-6): day one  
>Chapters 6 and 7 (or 7 and 8): day two<br>Chapter 8 (or 9): day three  
><em>-Two days passed here without any action-<em>  
>Chapter 9 and 10 (or 10 and 11): day six for the first three BakuSenshi; day four for the Sea Warriors<br>_-Another two weeks pass without action - the BakuSenshi mainly perform combat training here-  
><em>Chapter 11 (or 12): day fifteen, when Hiroyama becomes Director, and day twenty-five, when the MG-1 summit is held  
>This chapter: day 26<p> 


	14. Great Impact! Runaway Metal Dragon

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Thirteen-**

生き霊 DOPPELGANGER - ARC ONE FINALE

Part Three: 大衝撃！金属龍暴走 Great Impact! Runaway Metal Dragon

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza, Tokyo City.<em>

_2025_

The impact of Achilles' words was delayed, blunted. But the footsteps acted as whetstones.

_Crrrunch._

They sharpened the double-bladed dagger of unavoidable conflict.

_Crrrunch_.

They spoke of might and metal, of intensity and incineration but mainly ...

_Crrrunch. _

... they proclaimed pure, sheer, overwhelming power.

_Crrunch. _

With calculated steps, a gigantic beast rounded the corner.

It was sleek and robotic, with a flat, bevelled chest plate and triangular lower guard. Its arms, ending in four clutching talons, were made of glimmering titanium. A row of tapering rectangular spines with sharpened edges slithered down its back to its immobile tail. It gazed with an immovable look, from a pair two-dimensional translucent amber eyes set on top of its triangular snout. Its feet had two large, clawed toes in front and a single smaller one at the back.

This was the hellish metal kaiju.

"Surrender." A hauntingly deep, metallic voice echoed from MechaGodzilla's innards, entered in a text-to-speech device somewhere, gargled in its steel throat and spat out through loudspeakers built into the sides of the machine's mouth. "Or face the consequences. This is Mechabionic Weapons and Melee Combat System Prototype Model, Serial Number MG Zero Zero One. Alias MechaGodzilla."

Godzilla snarled, evidently taking an immediate dislike to the name thief. "Asshole, you are found guilty of claiming names otherwise not belonging to you. Therefore, you are sentenced to execution - by hands of the one and only Godzilla!" He fired a heated red burst of energy in the form of his atomic ray. The energy sliced into MechaGodzilla's chest, burning into the iron beast's armour. The acrid smell usually associated with burning rubber wafted over the battlefield. After a good thirty seconds, the energy blast ceased and evaporated. Ryo clutched at his chest, his heart beating like a caffeine-loaded rabbit in zero gravity. A simultaneous grunt of pain escaped from Ryo and Godzilla.

As the smoke cleared, MechaGodzilla stepped forward. The intense burning atomic ray had done nothing to affect it, not even laid a scratch on the polished armour.

_Unbelievable!_ Ryo's mind refused to digest the fact that this pseudo-Godzilla was, improbably, absolutely unharmed. _This thing's twisted strong! It's literally a walking juggernaut. Damn it ... this is gonna be harder than I thought._

* * *

><p><em>MechaGodzilla Control Room. <em>

_2025_

Hiroyama would have fallen off his leather-upholstered metal seat if not for the fact that he had been firmly strapped in. Though, on the surface, MechaGodzilla seemed untouched, in reality, every step taken vibrated through the the inner body of MG-1. The powerful impact of the atomic ray was absorbed completely by the pseudo-diamond layer of the 'alien element' Xenogen, a metal discovered under the surface of Mars an year ago, but the core-engine in MechaGodzilla's left torso (placed like an artificial heart) had been hit, causing the entire mecha to shudder.

Hiroyama quickly keyed in a series of letters on the keyboard connected to aforementioned text-to-speech machine. MechaGodzilla spoke. "These mosquito rays wouldn't hurt a Volkswagen, let alone a mecha built for perfect offense and defence. Let me show you a real move." The Director pulled down a lever labelled 'mouth cannon'. MechaGodzilla's jaws rolled apart and a tubular grey cannon shot out, simultaneously firing a spring-loaded missile.

Godzilla howled as the missile exploded about ten feet away from him, showering the ground with embers. He collapsed on the ground, still conscious, but barely.

Hiroyama smiled with satisfaction. He tapped at his prosthetic left leg. Both of the lightweight aluminium lower legs itched, as it did most of the time. His real legs had been ripped off a long time ago during the kaiju attacks. It had been the dragon ... the very same dragon he had glimpsed at the airport. The 'Nagoya Gargoyle', the creature that had ripped apart the entire city of Nagoya five years ago, ravaging every single building. He had been _Colonel _Hiroyama then. He had witnessed the Nagoya Gargoyle's terrible crimes. He could remember the day, five years ago.

Hiroyama and a squad of two other Colonels of the GDF, a surly New Yorker called Smithson and a jumpy rookie from Panaji, Goa, who went by D'Souza had been there. Smithson was a pessimist, about forty years old. D'Souza (who pronounced his name 'Dasooza') was barely twenty-three and covered in acne. He, Hiroyama, had joined the GDF for lack of a job after a couple of weeks of soul-searching. They had held off a mob from storming an army hospital when the Gargoyle landed. It _ate_ them. An entire mob, more than two hundred people, swallowed. The Gargoyle snapped up Smithson when he tried chucking a grenade at it. Then it swatted the grenade onto D'Souza, incinerating the rookie. Hiroyama wasn't brave. Nor was he stupid. So he ran. And ran. And fell.

The Gargoyle pinned his feet to the ground. Then, with a throaty chuckle, it clawed them off. It gently heated the fleshy stumps of his feet, until he screamed in pain, then licked at them with the tip of its rough, sandpaper-like tongue, taking off another centimetre of flesh, bone and marrow. Then it started all over again. It continued this torture for days, or maybe years. Sometimes he was delirious, sometimes he was unconscious, sometimes just plain scared. Finally, after a long time, the Gargoyle vanished. Just like that. And left the screaming, half-insane Hiroyama with rotting strips of flesh and bone hanging just below his kneecaps.

He was found by the GDF and treated. Hiroyama recovered easily, surprising, considering his ordeal. They gave him the prosthetic legs and replaced the dying nerves of his legs with artificial ones wired to his real legs. They double-promoted him to keep him quiet about the three months in the dragon's lair. But they couldn't bribe his newfound hate out of him. Before Nagoya, he had believed that kaiju were just mad animals, something that could be cured. But now, after the Gargoyle ... Somewhere, deep inside him, Hiroyama was aware that he had done exactly what every single prophet urged humanity _not _to do: let his hate fester inside him, grow like a seed, take root. He knew that he had undergone a change there.

And he preferred it like this.

* * *

><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis.<em>

_2025_

`Well, well,` Millennian laughed. `Someone's getting bigheaded. Let's show Hiroyama what _we _can do, shall we?`

Destoroya grinned grotesquely. `I believe so. Ghidorah-_sama_?`

The three heads of King Ghidorah snapped at once. `_Do it!_`

The Doctor extended an arm-like tendril, grasping a lever. He exerted pressure. With a creaking growl, the lever jerked, and moved down with a thud.

* * *

><p><em>MechaGodzilla Control Room. <em>

_2025_

Lights blared. Sirens bleeped. Then everything shut down.

Darkness.

Confused, Hiroyama looked around. MechaGodzilla took a step forward. And an another. But he hadn't executed the movement command.

Realisation dawned upon him. He banged on the messaging panel and roared. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! _I'VE BEEN HACKED!_"

* * *

><p><em>City Plaza, Tokyo City.<em>

_2025_

Momentarily, MechaGodzilla's speakers churned out a garbled stream of sounds, sounding like a fusion of nu metal, electronic signals, whalesong, and censor bleeps. Then, a voice blared through.

"Humans and kaiju, young and old, hear this! The voice of MechaGodzilla in truth and power, the messenger of the true rulers of the earth! We are coming. We will attack, as we did before! We will ravage your countries and rip apart your people! No one will be spared! We will attack you in full force. You may have strength in numbers, but our bodies are our weapons. We are _invulnerable_. _We_ are the celestial juggernauts and you are the mortal rats, scavenging our land for scraps. We will neither offer you a chance to surrender nor opportunity to incite revolution once we have taken over. Mankind will tremble beneath the footsteps of the mighty lord of all kaiju, King Ghidorah!

"Hear this! We shall attack, and we shall conquer. This is a case of _veni vidi vici_. WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH! If you resist you shall be crushed and snuffed out, extinguished like a candle flame. If you choose, wisely so, to surrender to us, you will have a meagre chance to survive. We are the agents of purification, the bringers of purgatory, the erasers of putrefaction such as yours - and we are coming!"

"I apologise for my language," interjected a loud, arrogant and self-righteous voice, "but damn your shitbringers."

Godzilla's arm reached out, pushing a deep imprint into the ground as he raised his lumbering body up. Limping forward, clearly injured, but, if anything, more defiant than ever, the King of Monsters continued. "I'd never have believed in my wildest dreams that I'd even be _thinking_ this, but the humans have the right idea. We were wrong, five years ago, to attack the cities of Earth, and we've accepted this. But you haven't. You can't, Ghidorah. You and all your bootlickers are done for if you even _try_ invading again. And you, the heap of scrapmetal. You say you're the messenger of the rulers of the earth, but look at you! Your every square centimetre has been forged by human hands. And you're delusional if you think you're any greater."

Ryo felt a surge of heat in his blood. _So this ... this is what Godzilla feels like ... _His muscles tensed and he pushed off the ground, shooting in the air ... _when he's at full power!_ Ryo landed, lithe and agile, on Godzilla's forehead. "Hey, Mecha-shit," he said, and his voice boomed out, magnified to the same level as Godzilla's. "We were here first. Get the hell lost or suffer."

MechaGodzilla seemed to return a smug grin, although this was impossible as his jaws were incapable of doing anything but releasing a cannon. "No chance in hell."

"All right," and Ryo and Godzilla's voices melted together into a formidable articulation, with a heavy timbre which could only be described as similar to molten lava flowing down the side of a volcano. "Take this!

"Execute PAIN! **HyperAtomic Breath**, _hyaa_!"

An opaque white sphere formed in Godzilla's mouth and blue sparks travelled up his dorsal spines, gaining size as they reached the top of his neck. Momentarily, they formed a bridle connecting with the sphere before vanishing. The sphere expanded like a bubble, and burst into a horizontal pillar of marble white energy, with a cerulean hue. It slammed into MechaGodzilla with such force that the artificial beast flew backwards ten feet, collapsing. The beam ceased almost immediately. Cracks spread from the epicentre of the blast on MechaGodzilla's chest. As the sun began to set, Godzilla loosed a triumphant roar.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Well, I'm back after a _long_ hiatus! How long has it been, a month or two? Forget that anyway - next chapter begins a new arc, so, due to my great happiness at having finished this arc, I'll spoil you guys.

1. More BakuSenshi appear.  
>2. New villains - Orga will make his debut next chapter, and Gigan might show up. A female villain will appear in the next arc for sure though.<br>3. We haven't seen the last of Hiroyama - not by far! I want Kiryu to appear, sooner or later, so we _will_ get to see more of MechaGodzilla in action!

And now, some chapter facts. This MechaGodzilla (capital G, because I want it to be unique) is based on the Heisei Mechagodzilla, the original human-made Mechagodzilla, in terms of appearance, and partly on Kiryu, in terms of weapons - the Absolute Zero especially. 'Mecha' is short for Mechabionic Weapons and Melee Combat System. Just like Kiryu was nicknamed 'Mecha-G' in the dub movies, MechaGodzilla's serial number, MG001/MG-1, is used to refer to it. Xenogen is this universe's über-metal, like adamantium and vibranium, replacing the NT-something alloy used for the Heisei Mechagodzilla.


	15. Prelude to Arc 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**PRELUDE TO ARC 2**

自然の復讐と怪獣 Nature's Revenge and the Monster

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere in the Middle East. <em>

_2025, one week later_

A large green Land Rover rolled through the dusty and sweltering desert. The GDF logo was emblazoned on the front doors and the dark-tinted windshield had a small GDF sticker on the top right. So it was a pretty good guess that it belonged to the GDF, which it did. If you thought along that line, you might conclude that the passengers too worked for the GDF, yet another correct conclusion.

The four men occupying the car were all markedly different. The driver was a scientific-looking old man, in his early fifties at least, with no hair on his head and a thick salt-and-pepper goatee. The Westerner riding shotgun was significantly younger, with a brachycephalic head - in forensic anthropology, that would mean the length of his head was 15% more than the width - with a thick bush of unruly, curly red hair. The two at the back were both around thirty, thirty-five. The man on the left, an African-American who was holding out a large metal box-like device with a lot of wires extending from it, had a carefully trimmed dreadlocks and round wire-rimmed glasses, and was dressed in a khaki collared shirt. The one on the right, an American, was a skinhead with 'I Don't Care' tattooed across his forehead (complete with pitchfork 'I') and wore a red T-shirt, on which the graffitied words "TAPRAT: Trekkie and Proud/Random and True" were stencilled. He also had a Mac AirBook in his lap, into which the box was plugged in. These were Dr Kurata Koga [ 倉田古賀 ], Brandon O'Brien, Ritchie Garry and Marvin Parr.

Dr Kurata slowed down as the car rolled over a dune. "Mr Parr, wouldn't you please check if we are near yet?"

Parr typed in a series of commands in a window. Immediately, a progress bar appeared. Once it filled in a couple of seconds, a large graph filled the screen. A needle began to rove over the lower two centimetres of the graph. "Nuh-uh. A coupl'a more metres," he observed As the car rattled forwards over the dune, the needle spiked up to the top, leaving a wide red tail. "Kay, man, we there! It's goin' haywire, dude!"

Garry grinned. "Doc," he said in a voice with a rich Southern accent, "ah think we found what we're lookin' foah."

"Bleeding Americans know how to use a Hakkounter 'least," remarked O'Brien as they clambered out of the car and looked out. He was Irish, if his accent was anything to go by. "So what _are_ we looking for?"

Dr Kurata grinned. "That."

Parr whistled deeply as the flying sand cleared slowly, and a gigantic red tower appeared just a few metres away. It was over a hundred metres tall, and nearly one-tenth of that in width, with nine sides that formed a pyramid capstone on the top. "Whoa ... ain'tcha look at that. How we gonna harvest the Earth Xenogen from that?"

"Easy, my man." Dr Kurata lifted a string of nondescript black cylinders from the car, along with a solar power drill. He drilled a small, inch-wide recess into the base of the tower, then inserted two tubes. "Special explosive. Remote-controlled. We do this all around the tower until we've got roughly two inches of explosive in the base, drive far away, and then - BOOM!"

The process of filling the tower base with explosive was much more arduous than it seemed. For one thing, the solar drill ran out of charge soon, and required another ten minutes of high-luminosity light to work for an hour. Also, the tubes had to be inserted very precisely, so that they didn't accidentally trigger the remote circuit. And lastly, there were over twenty holes to be drilled around the base, and the Xenogen tower resisted the Canadian-make high-power drill. It took just over an hour to finish the work.

Once the GDF team was a couple of miles away -

_**bbbBBBOOooooOOOMMMmmm!**_

Words alone couldn't capture the sense of the explosion, as the tower shattered into long shards of red metal. Two-foot-long spikes rained down, some even larger. The tower capstone collapsed, whole, into the sand, sank, and vanished, to be found years later. This explosion, the Earth would remember for aeons. But Nature's vengeance lasted longer...

* * *

><p><em>Drrrggg...<em>

_Drrrggg..._

The sound of Nature's vengeance...

_Drrrggg..._

Disturbing the balance...

_Drrrggg..._

__Drrrggg...__

Humankind would pay...

__Drrrggg...__

__Drrrggg...__

___Drrrggg...___

___The mighty forces play a lone hand, and one for all, and the monster rises from the sands as it had done only a few years ago...___

* * *

><p><em>Pacific War Memorial, Alotau, Papua New Guinea.<em>

_2025_

The sun-tanned veteran bowed his head as he faced the memorial. He did not heed the 'ooh's and 'ah's of the tourists, the flashing lights of foreign cameras, the clouds gathering over the horizon of the bay.

Another stormy night. But he had lived through many, and he could face one more. Unfortunately for him, his friend would not ...

Poor Malachi would never see another storm. The two childhood friends had once played in the park, so very near here, torn down before the War that Changed Everything...

The War that Killed Malachi Simon...

The War that Anthony Nalle ran from, and Malachi Simons joined, and took Malachi Simon's life in the end, almost a century ago.

The dark, aged Anthony Nalle, who was barely nineteen when his best friend was killed by the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II, began to walk away.

Something rippled in the dark waters. The clouds loosed a thunderous spark at the sea, and there was a sound like a bullet-shot. Anthony Nalle turned to the sea. Curiosity flickered in his eyes, then surprise, as yet another bullet-spark hit the sea. He had heard the legend, about the mythical bird that flew over the seas of Papua New Guinea.

Fear entered Anthony Nalle's eyes.

The storm rushed now, almost upon the shore. Another burst of lightning struck the beach.

Something began to rumble. Screams from the beach. Sand and water flew up and a large mound of heaving water crashed onto shore. Even louder screams.

The Monster exploded from the sand, like a Phoenix from ash, and flew to the storm. A deep shriek arose from its throat, and the bullet-spark-lightning-ray-thing exploded from the Monster's jaws. It flew in a circle counterclockwise three times, then swooped down

The Monster perched on the Memorial, and Anthony Nalle screamed its name.

"_ROPEN!_"

Then the Monster spoke its name.

"It's Rodan, old fool. FireRodan."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Argh. I actually wrote about 75% of this at one go, and then when I saved it, Chrome decided to go AWOL and told me to login _again_. So basically, zero. The _awesome_ 75% I painstakingly wrote in two hours - gone. _ARGH._ Also, I know I said Orga would show up next chapter in the previous chapter, but technically, this is a prelude, and therefore not a 'true' chapter. =P Anyone guess who the Middle East Monster is? No, not FireRodan. According to the movies, FireRodan is a reborn Rodan from Adonoa Island, but this one is a whole new kaiju species, based on the legend of the Ropen. Look that up, BTW - it's a fascinating cryptid that hasn't yet been disproved.


	16. Hokkaido

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Fourteen-**

北海道 Hokkaido

* * *

><p><em>Mt. Monbetsu, Hokkaido<em>

_2025 - one hour after prelude_

"Achilles, there's nothing here," Ryo protested.

"**_There's a kaiju in the vicinity, I tell you. Nothing on the news yet, but __KaijuWatch is coming on. They say they're in Hokkaido to investigate appearances of a flying monster. I can't think how it escapes my systems, but KaijuWatch is usually right when it comes to kaiju. There was the Spawn attack on Chiba when the systems were down - wait, KaijuWatch_ _is airing__. I'm tuning you guys in._**"

There was static, as the five strained their ears. For some reason, after the MechaGodzilla attack, Achilles' systems constantly crashed. These crashes were always ill-timed - usually, there was a kaiju attack just before the teleporter crashed, or when the radiation detectors were haywire. Fortunately, there was KaijuWatch. A group of amateur kaiju researchers had decided to start a radio show that would search for, report on and perform damage analysis on kaiju attacks. Achilles (who, it turned out, had humungous loads of money) was able to redirect money to them whenever they needed it. For the past twenty-four hours, KaijuWatch had been in Monbetsu, a city in Hokkaido, researching unusual reports of unnatural waves that crashed down even during low tide without warning...

* * *

><p><em>Monbetsu, Hokkaido.<em>

_2025_

An ordinary-looking off-white van rumbled through a narrow back alley, coming to a halt outside a seedy building. Two men and a girl jumped out, and looked around. These were the main members of KaijuWatch.

One of the men asked, "Sure this is where the informant told us to look?" He was Tokuda Kengo [ 徳田研吾 ], and his official rank was "Local Help". This was a reference to his ability to speak seventeen known languages, including Greek, Sanskrit, Latin and (although he refused to explain how) Morse Code. He was of average height and weight, broad-shouldered, with a beard trimmed to look like that of Saito from _Inception_ and short, neat hair.

"Yeah, downstairs, that's what they said," confirmed the girl. Fifteen-year-old Watanabe Tora [ 渡辺虎 ] was a child genius. By her first birthday she was able to solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle, she had topped college-level exams at the age of six, and at seven and a half, she became a member of Mensa International. However, she had vanished off the world radar since Christmas 2019, when she had vanished into Tibet for a month of peace and quiet. By the time she returned, the world had forgotten her and moved on to the horrors of kaiju. Finally, she had found something to do, by becoming a part of KaijuWatch. She worked all the systems, some of which she herself had invented. Physically, she looked like an ordinary girl, in a white shirt with short, cut-off sleeves, and a denim skirt. Contrary to what most would think, she had excellent eyesight despite long hours of computer time and reading.

The second man just nodded. This guy was a professional, who had joined KaijuWatch on the invitation of Kengo. He was a tall man, with a 6' 4'' frame and a Roman nose. His eyes were obscured by tinted aviator sunglasses and his head was shaved. A series of black and white strips, like a barcode, was tattooed on him in three places; across his left upper arm, circling his neck like a collar, and like a watch around his right wrist. No one knew why he'd got them tattooed, nor did they dare ask. Tora and Kengo referred to him as Aniki. Little was known about him except he had been dishonourably expelled from a Yakuza gang just a few years ago, and had been forced to perform the ritual of _yubitsume_. He was now missing the nails of his ring and index fingers, and their tips were left a dark red mangled mass. Soon after this, When Kengo needed to be especially derogatory to Aniki, he called him "Scissorhands" - a jibe that never failed to make the ex-gangster wince in pain. This was also a reference to Aniki's powerful six-foot-three frame - he worked out for hours at a stretch whenever possible. He served as the strong and silent muscle of the team. He also wielded a pair of Heckler & Koch MP5s - powerful submachine guns that he was able to reload in seconds.

Kengo spotted a grimy-railed staircase leading into the basement, and the trio entered.

"You gotta be kidding me," groaned Tora as she realised what they had entered.

A ramen bar.

A sweaty man in a greasy apron and a paper hat tossed noodles on an open pan, causing steam to force itself into the service area. Customers chatted loudly and slurped even louder. One man, probably drunk, had passed out on a plate of ramen. Rihanna blared through the loudspeaker in the corner, crooning something about burning, which fit in with the smell.

The maitre'd appeared, asking loudly for their order.

"The crow soup," Kengo said.

"Excuse me?" said Tora incredulously. The maitre'd said the same words, but as if he was asking for a confirmation.

"The teapot salad," replied Kengo. Bowing ceremoniously, the maitre'd led them to the loudspeaker. He crouched and pushed it aside, revealing a small door that a full-grown adult would probably just be able to crawl through. "This way," the man said.

As they emerged on the other said, Tora turned on Kengo. "What was that all about?"

"Passwords," Kengo answered. "We're now at our destination."

"You got that goddamn right," said a voice, sounding amused. A young man, about twenty-two, rode on the scene, riding a jet-black, sleek and silent motorbike. Ice-blue flames were spray-painted on the sides and a word [タイガ] was written in a grafitti font across the front. The rider himself was no less interesting. He was tall and well-built, with gelled, spiky hair dyed dark blue/black and a developing beard. His eyebrows were sleek and perfectly straight, while his eyes were an unnaturally vivid shade of aqua blue. His Roman nose jutted out from his face and his mouth was curved into a slight sneer. "KaijuWatch?"

"Yeah," Kengo replied.

The young man simply pointed to the motorbike. "You can just call me ... Taiga."

* * *

><p><em>Chamber Noire, Atlantis.<em>

_2025_

Millennian grunted in rage. His whole body throbbed. His mouth whistled a low, sped-up tune - a mash of several sounds - of its own accord. His tentacles seemed to be expanding and thickening, pulsing with sudden strength.

All of a sudden he relaxed. Sparks crackled along his tentacles for a second. These short, sudden power-burst attacks seemed to be occurring at random intervals with no warning, for the past week. They seemed to drain his mind, remove bits and pieces of his memory, dissect his thoughts - and then they condensed and turned into physical pain. After that, they burst out in sparks from his tentacles. The whole process took little more than two minutes.

Destoroya swept in. `Anything to do, Millennian?`

`Not much,` the alien/kaiju replied, and would have grit his teeth if he had any. `Why?`

`Oh, nothing really,` Destoroya said, with his characteristic cunning smile. `It appears the humans have been expecting an appearance at Monbetsu, Hokkaido. Ghidorah-_sama _is ... otherwise occupied,` he said, after a meaningful pause, in a superior tone that conveyed the attitude of "I know what he's doing, and you don't". `Would you like to oblige them?`

`Certainly.` Millennian grimaced again, as his whole body slowly tensed. He prepared for another attack of the 'sparks', but it didn't come - almost unfortunately, for he had noticed that every attack was followed by a certain calm and organization of mind, and his senses were top-notch. Almost as if he had ... regenerated.

* * *

><p>"So what's your information?" Kengo asked.<p>

Taiga tapped his temple. "Sixth sense, you'd call it. I _know_."

"We came all this way for a bloody _hunch_?" Tora said, incensed.

"I don't think you'd call premonitions and hunches the same," Taiga replied coolly. "I've had dreams -" he began, but cut off. Tora stiffened unnoticeably.

"It's happening," the spike-haired young man whispered, as the ground shook ...

* * *

><p>"All right, try this!" Godzilla rasped, swatting Millennian away. The UFO-like kaiju remarked snidely, "Come on, spines. Give me all ya got!"<p>

"Be careful what you wish for - 'cause you're wishing for my devastation pulse!" Godzilla's body took on a blue aura, his eyes glowing the same colour. A red circle formed around him, building strength - Ryo winced, remembering the effects of the pulse on the Doctor - and then exploded outwards, blasting Millennian into the air.

The outer space kaiju was about to say something, but his words were censored by a white noise song that blared out. His body began to spark and expand ...  
>And the head ballooned into a large, bloated crocodilian thing, with bulging nerves and a rip-like mouth ...<br>And his tentacles formed reptile hands with long, backwards-curving talons as large as the rest of his arms ...  
>And some merged into a hunchbacked, thick and squat body ...<br>And from the body grew wide, short legs, like elephants' but with claws ...  
>And finally, his eyes shrunk, and fell into long black folds ...<br>And his irises were flaming, fierce crimson.

And he was Orga.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Whew! I enjoyed every second of writing this chapter, but I wouldn't like to do it again. It was so much fun introducing the KaijuWatch team as new main characters. Aniki, by the way, is a Yakuza slang that refers to a more experienced gangster. _Yubitsume_ is a real practice, where people cut off their fingers, which is followed in certain Yakuza gangs. Aniki is partly inspired by Hanzo from _Predators_. The character of Taiga was almost fully formed from the beginning, just needed a few tweaks here and there. Keep reviewing people, I need C+C!


	17. The Transformation of the Foe

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Fifteen-**

敵の変身 The Transformation of the Foe

* * *

><p><em>Mt Monbetsu, Hokkaido.<em>

_2025_

`Shit! What the hell's that?` rasped Godzilla, reverting to the tongue of kaiju.

A thick, salivating forked tongue slipped out of this new monstrosity's mouth as he spoke. "Species M'lh'neni" - a somewat unpronouncable word - "local name, Millennian. Individual name, O'rh'gr" - yet another alien word, and for a second he paused here - "anglicised forms, Orgar, Orhag, Orga, etc. Brain data capacity, approximation 1999.333 terabytes. DNA analysis of genetic match - irradiated specimen of species _Gojirasaurus furvus_." He sounded exceptionally like someone reading a textbook.

"I think he's talking about you," Ryo managed to say, still flabbergasted by the metamorphosis.

Orga's eyes seemed to snap to Godzilla. "Genetic match confirmed." A low whirring arose from his throat for a few seconds as he recited, "Comparative analysis complete. Core module reboot loading." His eyes began to glow white. To astonished to speak or even attack, Godzilla and Ryo stared at the newly transformed brute.

After about ten seconds, Orga's eyes turned red again. But this time, there was none of the 'textbook tone' in his voice and his eyes were filled with a primal brute force, rather than the blank factual look they had earlier. "My honourable foes," he said, and his voice was thick, guttural, and menacing. "I'd like to give you a small ... biology lecture, shall we say. You see, my species has two stages: the adolescent stage, the 'tadpole', as it were - the one you knew as Millennian. However, we are what you might call genetic semiparasites. We require the DNA of another host being to form a true adult body. This occurs through energy-charged physical contact - which happened in our first encounter. 1999 - when I arose from the Arctic Sea and you, of course, just _had_ to try and destroy me with a nuclear pulse. And I tried to shock you while you were charging up that pulse ..."

"Damn it," Godzilla cut in, finally recovering from the surprise. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you all day! Move it shithead! Whether your head's a spaceship or a crocodile, I can take you any day!" With a roar, the King of Monsters charged up the red, fast-but-weak Atomic Ray, but before he could fire, Orga opened his mouth, firing a burst of thick, viscous golden saliva. The substance immediately sprayed all over Ryo and Godzilla, freezing them in place.

"That'll teach you to interrupt me," snarled Orga, momentarily looking as though he was about to slaughter his immobilised foes. However, the moment passed and he continued smoothly, "Unfortunately, the force of the radiation you exerted, combined with the electrical force of my shock and the subzero temperature temporarily allowed you to beat the crap out of me and I lost my precious DNA - but a side effect of my electric shocks repressed your memories of the encounter in the Arctic Sea, and forced you to return to hibernation to recover from the injuries I inflicted. But last month, when we faced each other again, as I was retreating, defeated yet again, you did something helpful. Do you remember?"

Godzilla attempted to growl, "Hell, yeah. I beat the crap out of you - again," but the immobilising spit was still acting on him, rendering him mute but able to hear.

"Oh? You don't? Well, let me refresh your memory." With malicious pleasure, Orga recounted, "While I was entering the portal, _you bit me_. The residual vortex energy combined with your bite forced some of DNA into me - and I began to change. Slowly, unnoticeably. I began to experience spasms of pain, with strange power boosts and severe forced introspection. And finally, today, when your pulse hit me, it triggered the metamorphosis. _I evolved_.

"I became this duplicitous reproduction of _your own body_. You see similarities between you and me, do you not? Don't lie - you know, deep down, that it's true. I've become half of you - the wilder half, the uncaring half, the ferocious, brutal, carnivorous half. The half that you've kept under control somehow. The half of you that you yourself hated. But you see, this half of you is _perfect_!"

Orga began to laugh sadistically, a deep, echoing cackle.

"The Hyde you've kept hidden ... a side which you wanted to be rid of! And now, it's staring you in the face, Godzilla my brother - for we are now, if not brothers, than half-siblings. I know you now ... better than you know yourself!"

"That's all very well, but when are you going to start fighting?"

An avian/reptilian figure swooped out of the sky, spiralling downwards and flying straight at Orga. With a loud, keening screech, the new kaiju loosed a glowing blast of energy, like a bullet, which smashed straight into Orga, throwing the morphed alien onto the ground.

_A smaller cousin of Rodan_, Ryo thought stupidly, than erased this from mind as their unexpected ally flapped its huge wings, dispelling the smoke. A large pterosaurian kaiju strode forwards on the clawed ends of its bat-like wings. It bore resemblance to Rodan, but its scarlet-scaled body was smaller and its wingspan, larger; clearly, it was built for agility and speed rather than powerful and elegant flight. While Rodan's golden beak was curved and aquilline, like a bald eagle, this kaiju wielded a foot-long flat beak with a down-curved tip. Also unlike Rodan, its underside was pale red and it had large, black-tinged green irises. _Who is this guy?_

"Yes, you can call me FireRodan," FireRodan said impatiently. _A telepath. _"Not really, I just sometimes pick up stray thoughts." _Semi-telepathic?_ "Much more like it."

Ryo suddenly realised he'd been having a conversation in his head. FireRodan cackled, and, with a swipe of his claws, destroyed the hardening saliva. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

Godzilla broke free and cracked his neck. "Finally! Now to teach that ass-ugly gator-face a lesson in pain!" FireRodan, however, shook his head. `Wait for it ...` he muttered to himself ...

* * *

><p><em>Monbetsu, Hokkaido.<em>

_2025_

"Everybody, get in the van!"

Kengo's roar brought Tora back to reality. The teen shook her short dark hair and raced after Kengo. As Tora crawled back into the ramen bar, Kengo nodded to Aniki. "Make sure he comes with us." He being Taiga.

Aniki gestured to Taiga. Reluctantly, the latter abandoned his bike and entered the restaurant, while Aniki brought up the rear. Instead of crawling through the hole, the bodyguard instead collapsed the wall with three well-placed slugs from his SMGs. The four piled into the van, which was crammed with computers, gadgets, a small minibar refrigerator and even an oxygen cylinder in a corner, and Kengo hit the clutch.

As the van roared up the street, Tora, sitting at the computer, typed furiously. Within seconds, she called, "I've got a hit! The mountain!"

Kengo nodded, and jackknifed the van, changing course. In a few minutes, the van rumbled up the mountain.

* * *

><p>The water began to pulsate wildly. Ripples sped away from the lake's center and huge waves crashed against the shore. From above, a small shadow appeared to be enlarging, while moving towards the shore.<p>

As if something underwater was escaping.

The waves battered the mountain, until suddenly, the depths of the lake split apart, and a giant swam out of it.

This kaiju was somewhat akin to an ankylosaurus, with characteristics of a rhino. It was a lumbering beast, around forty metres tall and sixty long, with gigantic plates of armour coloured like burnt rainclouds that wielded short, amber-coloured spines. The grey underbelly of the beast was, in contrast, light grey. Its head was rhino-like, with a huge, flattened beak which had a large, two-metre-long black spine rising from the nose. Its feet, however, were more like the feet of a theropod dinosaur, with amber claws. Large, intelligent orange eyes were embedded in the front of his head, under small crests. Its tail was nearly ten metres long by itself, and wielded a large spiked-mace-like club at the end, roughly shaped like an oblong sphere tapering into a narrow spine. When the newcomer finally spoke, using a deep masculine voice, his tongue flicked out and his gigantic mouth revealed flat incisors, sharpened canines and boxy molars and premolars.

`It looks like we're gonna have some fun.`

* * *

><p>The van was rumbling along the path, everything as normal as it could be when you were a member of a team that investigated giant monsters.<p>

Tora stared out of the window as soft punk rock played through her headphones. The sun was setting over the lake, and it looked like a shimmering gold orb, with rays of sunlight forming a dying spider-web around it. The orb was sinking slowly, and the waters absorbed its ochre/orange hue, creating a magnificent masterpiece of golden and crimson pastels on a clear, sky-blue canvas. Time passed - maybe minutes, maybe hours, maybe even aeons.

A stone fell into the lake, creating ripples. At first, nothing seemed amiss, but then more followed, and more. And more ...

Frowning, Tora looked at the mountain. First, she understood nothing. "What the -" But at second glance, everything. She gasped.

"PUT THE FRICKIN' BRAKES ON!" she shrieked, as more and more pebbles smashed into the lake and on the road. They gained in size every second; from tiny, minute specks of dust to fist-sized rocks. Boulders began to crash down. One smashed straight through the road, punching a gaping hole through the side and leaving only a foot of the asphalt towards the slopes of the mountain. Kengo pulled the wheel around, and the swerving van did a 360-degree jackknife of sorts, until they faced the road. The rocks never ceased raining down, and the road was avalanched by a tower of rocks that no car, not even the Batmobile, could go through.

"I guess we walk from here, " Kengo said grimly. He led the way, clambering over the pile of boulders until they reached a point where the road had been completely destroyed.

"Now what?" asked Tora in exasperation. However, the other three were transfixed, staring at a sight further on the mountain.

* * *

><p>`Anguirus, finally!` FireRodan flew over to join the other newcomer. `Now that the cavalry's here - time to die, alien!`<p>

`I don't know who the hell you guys are, but I second that!` Godzilla added. `Come on!`

The battle royale began!

FireRodan began, stunning Orga with a sudden flying wing attack. Immediately afterwards, Godzilla fired his atomic ray blast, blowing Orga away. The latter responded with a guttural, gravelly roar and swiped out with his long, oversized claws. Anguirus immediately moved in the way, wincing slightly as he blocked the attack with his clubbed tail. With a resounding shriek, Anguirus curled himself into an armoured ball, almost like an armadillo, or even a certain cartoon character, and, with a slap of his still-extended tail, rolled at a huge speed, crashing into Orga and knocking the alien away. FireRodan swooped in, with a roar.

* * *

><p>Tora gasped as the giant pterosaurian fired a bullet of energy from his beak. Orga convulsed in pain as it struck his head. "Gah! Fools! Let me show you a hint of my evolved electrokinetic powers!" With a roar, his claws began to glow and sparks ran out of his chest, forming a shield around his body which expanded into a protective force field.<p>

"For the first time, I give you my true power! **Rage Vent_: Thunderstorm__ Talon_**!" Orga thrust his claws out through the force field, grabbing the nearest kaiju - Anguirus. The force field shrank back into Orga's body and all his electrical energy flowed straight into Anguirus like a lightning rod.

Anguirus winced and convulsed for a few seconds, and then collapsed in a heap. Smoke rose from Orga's claws and he staggered slightly, seemingly weakend by the massive effort taken to use his Rage Vent.

Someone moved. A rock slipped down the mountain and, for the first time, the kaiju realised they had visitors.

* * *

><p>Taiga clenched his fist. For some reason, his heart was pounding. He hated most kaiju, and with good reason: they had destroyed his home, family - everything that mattered. Now he was feeling something for them - what? Pity? Sorrow? Why? He <em>wanted<em> them to die. But he had felt something, when the giant reptilian kaiju pumped the turtle with electricity. He was _shocked_ - literally. A tingling arose in his fist and began to spread around him ... his heart was racing ... blood rushed faster than it possibly could ...

Involuntarily, Taiga tensed, and a rock slipped from underneath his foot. The kaiju immediately swerved to look at them. Even the defeated-looking kaiju - Anguirus? - managed to raise its - _his_ - head to look at the humans. Except not all of them. For some reason, Taiga realised, they were staring at him.

He looked down, at his clenched fist, teeth gritted. And his jaw loosened in shock as he realised that _he was on fire_.

Well, metaphorically, anyway. But possibly literally, as well. A rusty, metallic-coloured burgundy/auburn - some kind of muted, dark reddish-brown colour - had formed an aura around him. It followed the basic outline of his body, but instead of shining and staying just there like in movies or whatever, the aura was flickering and fluid, continuously moving, an amorphous kind of glow around him. Wherever he was tensed - his clenched fists, for example - the aura was thicker, more murky and dense.

What the hell did this crap mean?

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<br>_

_2025_

"**Ohh shit!**"

Rodan had never heard Achilles swear so loudly, in such an agonised way.

"What's up?" she asked, flying over to him.

"**Shit shit shit shitshitshitshit!**" Achilles didn't deign to respond, his voice becoming more and more agitated. "**Sh -**"

Rodan impatiently whacked him across the head with her wing. "Behave! Now tell her what the problem is."

"**New kaiju****,**" Achilles explained. "**Ever heard of 'FireRodan' and 'Anguirus'?**"

Rodan's eyes widened. "The lost ones? From the Arctic?"

"**Exactly.**"

Rodan said, unsettled, "Can we trust them? She means, are they helping us?"

"**I hope so,**" Achilles replied, answering both the questions together. "**Do you mind finding the file on the battle?**"

"Of course not," Rodan answered. "What's the key to the Archives, again?"

"**It's 5-6-4-6-3-5.**"

"Alright - she'll be back soon."

As Rodan flew away, Achilles stared at the screen. It wasn't so much the lost ones' appearance that had shook him as something more disturbing - something he had deliberately neglected to tell Rodan.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note: **Firstly, I've got a new story up! It's my second Digimon story here. Also, Millennian - or Orga as he will henceforth be known as - is finally transformed. The 1999 encounter between Orga and Godzilla is a tribute to _Godzilla 2000_. Orga's immobilising saliva is a replacement of the plasma spit from the video games. Also, three cheers! We've got new kaiju! Anguirus was way tougher than FireRodan to write, possibly because I didn't give him an intro in the previous chapters. FireRodan's new avatar was fun to write; a sarcastic, telepathic adolescent kaiju. Very unconventional, very loudmouthed: a walking Green Day advertisement. Speaking of Green Day, Tora listens to _21 Guns _in the van. FireRodan's 'semi-telepathy' is my own creation, just to give him that little edge, considering he's smaller than other kaiju. Can anyone guess what's happening to Taiga? No? You'll find out soon. Also, I'm frickin' sorry about the delay, but I had my finals, and it's nearly summer over here, so just wait - there'll be a chapter up every week or so for most of next month, and the beginning of May. After that, I'm afraid I have my summer booked somewhere else, so unfortunately, less frequent updates.


	18. Secrets of the Frozen Land

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Sixteen-**

凍った土地の秘密 Secrets of the Frozen Land

* * *

><p><em>Mt Monbetsu, Hokkaido.<em>

_2025_

Orga stared, uncomprehendingly, at the glowing human. Why was it doing that? Was it supposed to do that? So many questions, and it appeared no one had a coherent answer.

`This battle is over,` the mutated alien stated flatly, and summoned a portal through the comm. link, a two-way radio to Atlantis that was implanted in all high-ranking KSA agents. At the other end, the computer automatically translated the encoded mental request in a matter of nanoseconds, and opened a glowing vortex behind Orga just as quickly.

"**Alright, then, I'm switching to speakers.**" Achilles' voice broke the spell of Taiga's 'aura', which had faded to a near-transparent mist. Suddenly, it was echoing through hidden speakers in Ryo's helmet. "**KaijuWatch, I'm Achilles, your financial benefactor. That means I give you money. Get ready, I'm teleporting all of you back to Monster Island - the van too. There might be a systems lag, so be careful and don't touch anyone - or anything - else or you might end up fused with them.**"

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island.<em>

_2025_

After a long time, Ryo was on the outside of the cliff where the Lab Rynthe was hidden. It was huge and rocky, with short grass, some shrubs and the odd flower growing. He walked as far as he dared to the edge and looked out to the bay. Anguirus and Godzilla had appeared in the water, FireRodan was gliding in the sky, while the KaijuWatch members were presumably on the cliff as well. He looked around and spotted two of them by the truck. He recognised them from Achille's pictures as Kengo and 'Aniki'. The other two appeared to have been teleported elsewhere.

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<em>

_2025_

Achilles checked the cameras for the 10000th time. He still hadn't been able to locate Tora and Taiga. Where the hell had the malfunctioning teleporter sent them?

Then he suddenly breathed out, loud and long. If his disturbing theory - the one he hadn't shared even with Rodan - was true, as he suspected it was, then he knew where they were. The one place he hated going to.

Rodan flew in, holding a large black-bound file in her claws. "She has it."

The one place he hadn't checked. Achilles' mouth was dry. "**Rodan? Could you do me another favour?**"

Rodan frowned. "Again? She's getting tired."

"**No, this is bloody frickin' important.**"

"Alright, what?"

Achilles considered the gravity of his request, before he delivered it. "**Check the caves, would you?**"

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island.<em>

_2025 - an hour later_

The five BakuSenshi, Achilles, Kengo and Aniki were on the verge of a fight over _what the frickin' hell_ was going on, in Yamato's words. Apparently, Achilles had neglected to tell anyone but Ryo and Rodan that the KaijuWatch members were coming for a visit. Kazu and Aniki were nearly at blows for some reason and Kengo was refusing to speak. Thestatus quo was about to overturn completely when Rodan flew into the lab, carrying the unconscious duo of Taiga and Tora on her back.

"_Tora_!" Kengo was noticeably distraught at the condition of the girl he had come to see as his cousin, or even his sister. He ran to her, examining the bloody scratches on her face and arms.

Taiga had fared even worse.

His aura had vanished. Many minor cuts and lacerations were present on his arms, unprotected by his short-sleeved, tight turquoise T-shirt. The leather biker jacket he had originally been wearing had apparently been taken off by Rodan, as it had been similiarly ripped. His left arm seemed mottled with black bruises. The worst, however, was still-bleeding double scar etched on the left side of his face. A short backslash-shaped diagonal cut had been overlaid with a longer, deeper diagonal, nearly four centimetres long. The result was a bloody 'X' on his face.

"**What the hell happened**?" Achilles demanded of Rodan.

"I reached too late, they had entered already! This isn't the work of any human thing, she's telling you!" Rodan protested.

"Looks like you owe us all an explanation," Aniki growled, startling everyone. Kengo standing up and supporting the slowly awakening Tora, looked in astonishment, hearing the ex-yakuza's voice for the first time. Taiga, as well, was blinking, looking disoriented.

"**Fine.**" Achilles crossed his arms. "**Kengo, why don't you tell them?**"

_Kengo?..._ Ryo, as with everyone else, stared in shock at Kengo, who lowered his head with a look of shame.

* * *

><p><em>GDF Headquarters, New York City<em>.

_2025_

"Wow! Stroke of luck that David managed to get us tickets for the GDF's Kaiju Defense Expo! I hope we haven't missed Dr Shirakami's talk ..." Rin gushed as she and Naomi entered the huge, glassy building.

"I hope we have," muttered Naomi, "but with your luck who knows?"

They walked past three towering MOGUERA units - v0.0 (the prototype), v1.7 (an outdated model) and v1.9 (the current model) - and Rin stopped to look at the schematics of a proposed MOGUERA v2. Further on was the broken hand of MG-0, as the media had dubbed the hacked and destroyed MechaGodzilla, easily the size of a large car. Then came the armoured cars, several GDF officials demonstrating bulletproof vests and the blueprints of MG-0.

At the end of the exhibition hall stood what left of the infamous Helitank. In 2021, desperate to save themselves from bankruptcy, General Motors had rashly signed a contract with the then-newly-established GDF to build an armoured helicopter. When it was put to use in Paris to stop Kamacuras, 'Project Helitank', everyone was excited. However, half an hour after the flight began, the pilot fired the missiles at Kamacuras, and the Helitank suddenly began to fly erratically. The pilot wasn't worried, though, and fired again. This time, the Helitank fell out of the air into a huge building and exploded. Thousands of people were killed by the shrapnel.

What was the cause? The designers, eager to prove themselves, 'uber-ified' the helicopter (in Naomi's words), loading it with so much expensive machinery and powerful weaponry that the total amount of expenditure came to nearly $8 million. To save money that might be spent on repairs, GM decided not to field test the Helitank. Finally, when the Helitank was utilised to stop Kamacuras in Paris, 2022, it was without a field test, so no one knew that the Helitank couldn't survive the recoil of firing its missiles twice in a row. The result? A modern-day Titanic incident that incited four months of media wrath against the GDF, and the bankruptcy of GM.

Finally, Rin and Naomi entered the lecture hall.

"And to summarise, the effects of radiation due to kaiju rampages in Japan have mutated some roses in a bizarre way, such as the ones you see on the screen." Dr Erika Shirakami [ 恵梨香白神 ] used a laser pointer to highlight two or three burnt-looking roses. "Thank you," she waited for the applause to die down before continuing, "Once again, I'm sorry that you've had to listen to this talk given by _me_, instead of my infinitely more capable father, a sensational botanist who unfortunately died last night of heart failure, years before his time had come."

* * *

><p>"About a month ago, just before the public announcement of MechaGodzilla, Achilles came to me. I used to be a smalltime theatre actor and quite a sensation in my small home village. He heard of me somehow and asked me to help him form a team that would help others realise that the BakuSenshi were in fact promoting peace between all kaiju and humans. I was in need of money and purpose in life - the theatre had lost its charm for me. So I agreed. I hunted down Mensa genius Tora and a bodyguard named Aniki who had yakuza affiliations, on Achilles' recommendations. And that's my story."<p>

Kengo's revelation was shocking, but Tora realised there was more to come. Achilles took over, and began to tell them the age-old story of a feud between two sides of kaiju ...

* * *

><p>"And that's basically how the war started. But now I have a revelation to make." Achilles stood up. "I've not suspected this until now - it wasn't until today until I realised."<p>

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Taiga asked, wincing as he touched his scar.

"Well, that's a long story, which I have no right to tell. It's not mine. Let's hear it from the actual people who were there. Come on people - time to talk to the kaiju."

All eleven of them, Rodan included, walked over to the cliff, where FireRodan, Godzilla, Anguirus, Manda, Zilla, Mothra and Gamera had all crowded in a circle, with FireRodan and Mothra hovering over the cliff's sheer edge. Anguirus, still wounded from the high-voltage shocks of the Thunderstorm Talon, nevertheless made the effort to claw his way up and climb on the cliff, succeeding with a little help from Gamera.

"Well, then ..." Achilles looked expectantly at FireRodan, who gave a nod of affirmation. Flying down and perching on a rock, the latter began his story: "It all began in 2001 ...

"Like I saw in Achilles' footage of the battle with Orga earlier today, he told Ryo and Godzilla about a battle in the Arctic in 2001. Apparently, Godzilla's memories of this have been repressed. This is kinda curious, seeing as there _was_ a battle in the Arctic, but it was in 2001 and it involved more kaiju than simply Godzilla and Millennian - in fact, it didn't involve Godzilla at all. Not ours, anyway. Anguirus has a theory about why Orga's memories are wrong."

Anguirus said, "Millennian's electric shocks didn't affect Godzilla's memories - but they _did_ throw his own head out of whack even more. So his own shocks, combined with the energy of the nuclear pulse and the freezing cold, acted on his own memories, altering them. Go on."

"So, as I was saying," FireRodan continued. "The KSA invited us to a negotiation of terms in the Arctic. If we didn't send two representatives, they would stage an immediate war against us and the humans. They even specified one of the representatives: Godzilla."

"Me?" Godzilla rumbled in surprise.

"No, not you. You're not the first Godzilla the world has seen. In 1954 - but that's another story. The one we're dealing with is different - for sake of clarity, let's call him Godzilla I. So they asked for Godzilla I, and we sent Anguirus as well. They sent only one representative." FireRodan lowered his head in shame.

"Me.

"I worked with the Opressors after the schism," he continued. "It wasn't the addiction to killing humans that hooked me - I was young and naive enough to think that they were, actually, what they said they were: the messengers of the kaiju, sent to liberate the rest of us from secrecy, and from human intrusion. I had been with them since '97, so I was considered reliable enough to represent them. So, like a fool, I went. The meeting was going badly - Godzilla I was outmanoeuvring me; he was a good negotiator and we - the KSA - shouldn't have picked him. But then, we had a reason. He was their best fighter; most powerful PAIN I'd ever seen. And we had planned an ambush. Halfway through the meeting, I gave the signal. And the ambush began. One of Ghidorah's right-hand men - Kameobas - and Hedorah - the Doctor - were there. We did an all-out attack. But then our battle disturbed Millennian, who awoke from the Arctic. This caused an accident; a terrible accident."

Grief burned in FireRodan's eyes. "Kamoebas panicked. He went berserk and used his Rage Vent: the **Heartless Burst**. He'd been saving his energy up for years, in order that when he really needed it, he could annihilate cities, even, with his powers. All that power, just simmering inside him, when he let it go, it literally blew him up. Even his nervous impulses transformed into energy to use his Rage Vent. It explodd out of him, literally - he couldn't feel, couldn't breathe. His power sucked the life out of him, all just to make a bigger bang. He just stood there, and burst. The force of the Rage Vent killed him and Godzilla I both. It encased Anguirus and I in the Arctic, and Millennian ... well, brain damage, as Anguirus guessed.

"We were just trapped there. Frozen. No sense of pain, fear, morality ... just nothing. Only cold." FireRodan laughed humourlessly. "Funny how we escaped in the end. Global warming - the bane of the Earth - it just melted the glacier we were stuck in, about an year ago. We were both weak - but me more than Anguirus. He helped me, though - he took me to my home, the mountains of Papua New Guinea, where I recuperated. In return, I promised him that I would leave the Opressors. And now I keep my promise."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note: **In this universe, there have been only three Godzillas: one based on the original (1954), a Showa/Heisei combination (the one in the Arctic) and Godzilla Jr/Millennium series Godzilla (who is our present Godzilla fighting Orga at the moment. The original, however, is not called 'Godzilla', but is simply considered a mutant (NOT irradiated) Godzillasaurus, thus making our Godzilla the second 'real' Godzilla'. FYI: the original Godzilla was a mutant _Gojirasaurus iratus_ (the angry Godzilla lizard), named for its unusually violent mannerisms, low intelligence and ability to cause huge amounts of damage, while the other two are irradiated _Gojirasaurus colossus_, named for their huge height. (1954's was only 50m, while the Arctic's was 80m tall. Even though the present Godzilla is still only 50m, he's not yet reached his full height.) Also, Ryo _was_ the only (active) BakuSenshi on Mt Monbetsu for the last three chapters: Sakura, Yamato, Rei and Kazu were on Monster Island. The Helitank's history was interesting to write as well, and it might make appearances later on. Trivia: Erika Shirakami is the daughter of Biollante's creator in _Godzilla vs Biollante_, who dies while her father survives. I decided to turn the tables a bit for this version of Dr Shirakami. The scene in the GDF was mostly filler, but also added to continue with Rin and Naomi's characters. Finally, the Doctor's real name is revealed!

Before you guys leave, I request you to check out my new wiki: http:/bakusenshi*wikia*com/wiki/BakuSenshi_Fanfiction_Wiki. As always, replace '*' with a full stop. Please update: there's a lot to do, and I've created some preliminary pages, but I need help. Thanks in advance!


	19. Fire · Water · Wind · Earth

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Seventeen-**

·火·水·風·大地· Fire · Water · Wind · Earth

* * *

><p><em>Monster Island. <em>

_2025_

Taiga broke in. "That still doesn't explain why we got slashed to bits in a cave!"

Achilles turned to Tora and him. "Well, why don't you tell us just how you got in those caves?" he said, sounding strangely hostile.

"Your teleporter," Taiga shot back. "It dumped us in front of two six-inch-tall women with freaky eyes!"

_The Shobijin? _Achilles grew even worried inside, although he kept up his hostile facade. _What the hell have they got to do this?_ "And then?"

Tora took over. "They said something about a ... challenge? And reaching the other side? I don't remember ... but then they disappeared ... and this really strong wind blew around all of a sudden and it -"

"It just _blew us away_," Taiga said sarcastically. "It felt like a butcher's knife tearing through my skin, if that helps."

"It did?" Tora looked at him in surprise. "To me it was kinda like someone was scratching me with blunt fingernails - didn't hurt much."

"Redemption," Achilles said abruptly. He had let his false anger drop by now, revealing his weary, and a little afraid, nature. "Ryo, Yamato and Sakura got Acceptance instead, which was lucky for them. For Kazu and Rei, I'm guessing it was Adversity."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"The Shobijin - the women - give all BakuSenshi a test of will, to see if they are worthy. A trial, if you will. They have nineteen ways - I know only six. Acceptance is coming to terms with the past; letting things go. Adversity is one of the slightly harder ones; I guess the Shobijin pulled the strings of spacetime a little to give Kazu and Rei a tougher time when they were with the Opressors. But Redemption is, by far, the hardest of which I know. I hate all the trials, but Redemption is the worst - it gives the Shobijin the right of moral judgement, to decide if something was right or wrong, considering the circumstances in which that something was done It's brutal in its simplicity. For every wrong you've done, every tiny little moral crime - laziness, a white lie, breaking a promise you made so many years ago - they hack away at you physically. It's apparently metaphorical - sins cut away at your morality, Redemption cuts away at your body. It's just ... _wrong_."

"Whoa, wait - back up a sec," Tora said. "All _BakuSenshi_?"

Achilles nodded tersely. "I'm afraid so. I never thought to DNA-check any of the KaijuWatch members. It was a mistake on my part."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Taiga seemed to have taken everything in extremely easily. "I mean, being a BakuSenshi? More good guys to fight the Opressors?"

"_No_!" Achilles exclaimed. "Not you guys - especially not Tora! You're not supposed to even know my name, forget knowing about the Opressors. You're the real good guys to the public - you're impartial judges, you manage to get across the message every time: _all kaiju are not evil_. That's what's important! To the public, we're the assholes who dismantled a GDF mecha! You can't double-deal them."

Kengo stood up. "KaijuWatch can go on without Tora - and Taiga wasn't a member in the first place. I'm not saying you're easily replaced, but this guy is overreacting. I say, you've got a new job, _go the hell out and do it_. It's your duty, damn it! You were destined to be BakuSenshi, fine! Your place is over there, Tora, with this piece of work." He indicated Achilles. Defiantly, Kengo cracked his knuckles and glared at Achilles, challenging him to disagree.

The argument continued for another half an hour between Kengo and Achilles, but the former had already won. Finally, Achilles relented.

"Now, the next thing is to find you guys partners. I mean, obviously they're FireRodan and Anguirus, but we don't know whose partner is who," Achilles said.

"I know who mine is," Taiga said, standing up. The burgundy aura around him had flared up again. "I'm pretty sure who it is." He pointed. "Anguirus, pal, you ready to roll?"

"Literally or figuratively? But the answer's yes!" Anguirus flexed his neck. A loud CRRRKKK echoed, and all winced.

"I guess it's just us, then." Tora nodded at FireRodan.

"Yeah," the prehistoric avian replied, gliding over to stand beside her. "You're not a bit like me, but I guess you'll have to do."

"Your name's too long," Tora joked, to break the ice. "Can I call you Fire?"

"Actually, I prefer Rho," her new partner answered.

"Huh, no problem!" Despite their clashing personalities - Rho's sarcastic, quick wit and Tora's laidback, quiet attitude - the two seemed to be getting along as well as Anguirus and Taiga.

* * *

><p><em>Requiem Tower<em>_, Atlantis_.

_2025_

`My king!`

King Ghidorah never had to eat or sleep. So most of the time he could be found in the training arenas, battling simulated kaiju. The training program built by Achilles was the same here as the same on Monster Island; in fact, this one was the original. Ghidorah was preoccupied with slashing and tearing a squad of MOGUERA to scrap metal, so he didn't notice the Doctor's call until he repeated it.

`My king, I have found something!`

`What?` Ghidorah found several of the Doctor's discoveries extremely boring. For example, the discovery that some species of sea slug had some hormone deficiency resulting in some obscure effect.

`I'll have to show you first - would you mind coming to the Observatory?`

* * *

><p><em>The Observatory, Atlantis. <em>

_2025_

The Observatory was one of the oldest buildings in Atlantis. It was a remnant of the old Unitist rule and, as such, was mostly abandoned. However, an year ago, the Doctor had moved in, in order to work on some astronomical calculations. He had been fascinated with the technology used, most of which he himself had built. Unable to resist a chance to improve on his older works, he began to renovate the Observatory. Most of his old tech was totally outdated and had to be abandoned, but some of it was salvageable, such as the unfinished holotouch displays. It was the latter that he focused on, rebuilding, re-encoding and revising all of what he could, until the Observatory was now cutting-edge, some four months after he first moved in.

Now, the Doctor used his numerous slime tentacles to tap away at several screens, while instructing, `Look carefully at that screen.`Ghidorah had never been to the renovated Observatory - indeed, he was the first kaiju to come there after the Doctor's modifications were completed.

Finally, the blurry display shifted into focus. It showed space, full of stars.

`This is the dark side of the Moon, one hour ago.` The Doctor tapped again, and something changed. A star that had not been visible before now came into view. `Just about fifty-five minutes ago.` He changed the view again, and this time, the star seemed brighter and larger. Also seen was a strange kind of distortion. The area just behind the star seemed to blur. `You notice the change? That's not a star there. It's moving. At a slow rate, for sure, but it's definitely moving.`

`What is it?` Ghidorah asked, now deeply interested.

`At first I thought it was a comet. But then -` The view changed again. `This is from Deimos, a moon of Mars, from half an hour ago. Much closer. Do you see?`

Was it possible not to see? This was huge. A revelation. Something was definitely ... wrong? No, that wasn't the word. Something was _different_ - so obviously different that Ghidorah wondered how he could ever have mistaken it for a star.

_Just what the hell was that thing?_

`I think this calls for a meeting of the Monarchs,` Ghidorah said, his voice hoarse in amazement ... and, maybe, just maybe ... a hint of _fear_.

* * *

><p><em>Hall of the Monarchs, Atlantis.<em>

_2025 - the next week_

The Hall was a supreme construction of stainless steel and glass, with LED lighting strips and voice-controlled security systems. It looked like a Mayan temple built in the 25th century. Along the walls and staircases were inscribed hieroglyphs, cuneiform, the Indus Valley script, Roman Latin - all the dead languages had a place, in this hall of the living.

The Monarchs were a different matter. They were the ruling class of Atlantis: the ones King Ghidorah had hand-picked to be his representatives. The King himself almost never made public appearances. That was for the Monarchs.

There were seven of them, five male and two female. Not sexism; female kaiju were oddly rare.

Each Monarch took their place on the sides. There were exactly eight 'seats' in the Hall: three on each side, and two facing each other at the opposite ends. Each 'seat' was merely a raised circular pedestal, with the kaiju's name, title and territory inscribed on the edges.

Ghidorah took his place at the head. Opposite him was his most trusted lieutenant, Destoroya, Monarch of the Inner City. Despite having the smallest territory, he was the most important - his territory included the Hall of the Monarchs itself, as well as Requiem Tower.

On the left side, Titanosaurus, Monarch of the Seas. He ruled the oceans outside Atlantis and was in charge of making sure it stayed undiscovered by humans. Megalon, Monarch of Ciedroi*. The arrogant giant insectoid was famous for his temper, and ruled over the industrial capital, the north-eastern province of Ciedroi. Lastly, there was the place occupied by Gammoebas IV, the Monarch of the Crags. He had replaced Kamoebas, one of Ghidorah's old friends, and had yet to gain Ghidorah's trust. He ruled over the Crags, the sprawling underground province inhabited primarily by the species of subterranean turtle-like kaiju known as the Tesdors.

On the right, Megaguirus, Monarch of Meganulis. She ruled the Meganulon, a species of mutant dragonfly kaiju, who lived in the largest province, Meganulis. Kamacuras, Monarch of the Mountains. A war-loving mantis-like kaiju who was famed for his agility and speed, he ruled over the western mountains. And finally, Battra, Monarch of the Deserts. Ghidorah hated her, and the feeling was mutual: she had been given the barren uninhabitable southern deserts to rule over. No one lived there apart from the Gigamoth, a nomadic species of moth-like desert kaiju from whom Battra was descended.

`My countrymen,` Ghidorah began. `A situation has arisen that will require us to take some action. Yesterday, our head scientist in the Tower, Hedorah - who may be known to some of you as the Doctor - discovered an astronomical aberration. This aberration at first was thought to be a star ...`

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note: **Anyone get the title's meaning? No? The meaning will be revealed next chapter. Until then feel free to post your ideas. The Observatory scene was awesome! Felt like a thriller to write and hopefully to read as well. Please let the feedback keep coming in. The seven Monarchs may or may not make appearances later on. Of course, Destoroya definitely will, and I have plans for one or two of them. Think of Gammoebas as Kamoebas, except with a white shell and a black-and-white head.  
>*Ciedroi - pronounced Chi-droy (first syllable sounded as in <strong>Chi<strong>na)


	20. We've Been Found

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Eighteen-**

我々は発見されている We've been Found

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island.<em>

_2025 - three weeks later_

Ryo was watching TV. It was about 9 PM and everyone else was with him. Everyone wanted to know what all the hype was. For the last few weeks, all the major news channels and conspiracy blogs had been claiming that a 'celestial aberration', whatever the hell that was, had been found near Mars. This aberration, according to Achilles, was an important discovery. Despite several mysterious hints, even he admitted that he didn't know what it was. Even the Opressors seemed to be watching the skies: there had been no incidents since Orga.

Last week, the M-4 News Channel claimed to have 'come into possession' of documents relating to the aberration, leaked from the GDF. They had been publicising this particular episode of their show, 'M-4 Revelations - Celestial Aberration', since then. It was to serve as a big secrecy-killer for the 'aberration'. Finally, it was the day of their hyper-publicised report.

The show's host, Domon Yu, the same man who had begun the anti-BakuSenshi sentiment, appeared. First he began to explain that a celestial aberration was a recent term used to describe a space phenomenon, where something that shouldn't be there appears. He gave examples of two hoaxed celestial aberrations from the last few years, before finally coming to the point

"At 5:32 PM GMT on June 16th, a celestial body was supposedly spotted near Deimos, a moon of Mars. It was first reported by a low-level NASA employee who remains anonymous on request. This employee monitored a satellite, located near the Moon, that captured an image of the aberration at 5:32:29 exactly, and again at 5:36:11 as well as 5:49:47. Each of these three pictures was released to the public the next day." Domon vanished, and his voice continued speaking as a photo flashed on screen. "In the first picture, all stars except this one" - a blurred star in the top right corner was circled in green - "were in focus. In the next photo" - a new photo appeared - "the previously blurred star seems to have shifted half an inch or so. Also, it is now slightly darkened, and the area behind it is blurred and slightly discoloured. In the third photo" - the last photo appeared on screen - "the 'star' has definitely moved its position from top right to the centre of the photo. It appears to be a comet, but the tail is not coloured and instead a blur."

All three photos vanished and Domon returned. "NASA's official statement said that it was most likely a comet and there might have been some doctoring of the photos. If not, there might have been some problem with the satellite imagery - a slightly smudged lens perhaps? We think not. Last week, as you all know, this channel came into possession of leaked GDF documents. These documents contained astrodata and images relating to the aberration. We contacted some leading astronomers, who were able to make sense of the astrodata. These people have said that it is an amazing find, one which cannot be explained properly without using technical terms. However, have we found it? Or ..." Here, he paused significantly.

"_Has it found us_? Some of the images with the documents showed the view from another satellite orbiting Deimos at the time. The GDF apparently withheld these documents for a reason which we have found. Ladies and gentlemen, this celestial aberration is Chuck Norris." A laugh track played. "I'm sorry, just kidding. Just messing with you there. Now, this celestial aberration is in fact an _alien body_. Don't laugh this time; we have proof."

A new image appeared. This one was grainy, but showed the previously blurred aberration in detail. It was now clear that there was definitely something alien about the aberration. Ryo exhaled loudly.

The 'aberration' was a humanoid thing: a metallic-looking figure. Four ribbed, rigid wing-like structures extended from his upper torso. Little else could be seen. More pictures appeared, one by one, but all of them were merely of the same figure from slightly different angles. Nothing new could be seen.

Achilles switched the TV off and looked at them. "Well, guys, looks like we have company."

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><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis.<em>

_2025_

`Hmm ...`

A gigantic, blood-hued kaiju was perched on one of the several turrets of the Requiem Tower complex. It was oddly poised, in a pose resembling a gargoyle. It also looked oddly thoughtful.

Destoroya was getting annoyed. The Doctor's 'great discovery' of some pile of space-crap had cost the crimson kaiju dearly. No longer was he Ghidorah's sole confidante. Something had changed.

This did not bode well for Destoroya. Something had to be done. It was time for action.

Or perhaps not yet? Yes. Go with the flow, be careful and when they least expect it ...

The draconic beast's mouth curved into a leer.

* * *

><p><em>Ames Research Center, California.<em>

_2025_

MER-F _Dream_ was plodding along tirelessly. The NASA scientists at ARC were watching expectantly to see the camera pan to a view of an impact crater, undiscovered as of now. If all turned out well, they could have their names on it.

Finally, the rover crunched over the final turn. It rounded a corner. A beautiful hole was what NASA was expecting. They got something they weren't.

The camera lens cracked suddenly. For no reason. Static pulsed across the screen, as the connection between ARC and _Dream_ slowly went to hell.

For a few seconds, static. Then an unclear, highly distorted image. Static again. A red blob. And so on.

Until suddenly, the camera lens focused and panned upwards. It zoomed in on the rust-coloured soil. The scientists cheered, as a crater came into view. And then -

The lens shattered completely.

The cheering stopped abruptly, as all communications to MER-F were inexplicably lost.

Well, that _Dream_ was over.

* * *

><p>One of the researchers had a sudden bright idea. "Barney! Hey, Barney, switch to the others! Check them out, are they malfuctioning as well?"<p>

'Barney' did as his colleague instructed. With a couple of keystrokes, he finally opened up MER-C _Unity_'s camera.

"What the hell?"

_Unity_ was functioning perfectly. Barney ordered it to turn a three-sixty and it did. Pan camera up? No problem. Zoom in? All right. There was no clue as to why _Dream_ had suddenly stopped working.

And then _Unity_ went to hell too. _  
><em>

A grainy black object obscured the camera. Approximately 500 scientists were freaked out of their mind as a pulsing grey something engulfed their rover. Communications went first, and then nearly everything was disconnected. Only the audio and camera were transmitting.

Static again; the camera was dead. Now only the audio left. A strange buzzing sound began, masking a shrill fizzing noise.

And then audio was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note: **Sorry, J J Abrams - it was too good to resist. To those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the title is a reference to the tagline of _Cloverfield_ ("Something has found us"), one of the most epic monster movies ever. Speaking of titles, the previous chapter title was a reference to the protagonist kaiju.

Earth: Zilla, Anguirus  
>Water: Manda, Gamera<br>Wind: Rodan, Mothra  
>Fire: Godzilla, FireRodan<p>

There's been a huge time jump. The first arc was set in May, it's now mid-July in story. Those of you who've actually seen the story's wiki will know that this means that Ryo's birthday is drawing close! So, as a matter of fact, is something else ... I'm planning a plot twist for the next few chapters before the finale, and no, it won't be another drawn-out tortuous three-parter like Doppelganger was: it'll be a two-part epic clash. This arc won't be thirteen chapters long, more probably around ten chapters. I've got big plans for the third story arc - I'm not revealing what it is, but it's going to follow up from certain factors introduced in the last bit. Oh, and it'll borrow the premise from a canon medium, just one you might not expect. It will run for about 12-15 chapters and after that: SERIES FINALE! That's right, this story is nearing the beginning of the end. Am I just kidding? Or am I totally serious? You'll have to wait to find out. Wait a lot, I'm afraid - I'm out of the city for three weeks with limited-to-no Internet access, from this weekend to next month. So, story on hiatus.

In other news, Mars Exploration Rover = MER. There are two real-life Mars rovers, _Spirit_ and _Opportunity_, which don't feature in this. We're assuming at least four other Mars rovers have been launched in the next thirteen years. I hope the Mars sequences read out like a short horror story, that was the concept I was going for. ARC is real, and I have no idea if it's involved with the MER programme. The ARC sequence is purposely made short because I simply don't have the patience to do research on MER and ARC for hours just to get a more accurate paragraph. And finally, the story apparently turned an year old just before I put up the seventeenth chapter. XD go anniversaries! XD

PS: There appears to be an error with the next chapter (21st), so if you can't find it on the list, use the following link: www*fanfiction*net/s/6875835/21/Kaiju_BakuSenshi, replace the *s with a full stop (.)


	21. A Visit to Barney

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Nineteen-**

バーニーへの訪問 A Visit to Barney

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><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island. <em>

_2025 - the next day_

Tora walked into the controls room. "Hey," she said tentatively, trying to catch the man's attention; she couldn't remember his name.

He swivelled around on his chair. "What is it - Oh. Hi." His tone of irritation changed to a slightly surprised and inquisitive one. "Sorry, we haven't been introduced formally yet, have we? It's Achilles."

"Tora. And, uh, you asked us to be here?"

"Yeah. Where's Taiga?" Achilles asked.

"Right here," the older of the two teens answered as he entered. His jacket was slung over his shoulder, and he slipped into as he walked in. None of the rips that were inflicted by his experience in the caves had been fixed, probably so that it would add to his punk rep. However, Rodan had forced him into wearing new clothes: a short sleeved, white T-shirt with the collar upturned and teal-coloured jeans. His shirt seemed half a size small for him; it accentuated his pecs and the sleeves revealed muscles. Clearly, Taiga worked out. For some reason, this induced a mental blush in Tora.

"So, uhh, what'd you call us here for?" Tora asked.

Achilles turned back to the the computer. With a couple of keystrokes, the image on the display switched to a simple white-and-orange background web page. "This is a blog of the NASA employee who first sighted our alien. Last update was fourteen minutes ago. 'Just lost my job at ARC' - that's Ames Research Centre - 'because of a'" here Achilles added air quotes "'_violation of my nondisclosure agreement_.' So he's fired for shooting his mouth. Now, skip over the angry rant and you have this." Info scrolled down the screen.

_So, I'm leaking more information out so that I can get my revenge on NASA. Get this: last night, two of our Mars rovers malfunctioned unexpectedly. We lost _Dream_ and _Unity_ in two totally different ways. _

Dream _went first. Cameras were all static-y just when we were trying to discover a new crater. We did get a glimpse of the crater, but only for a nanosecond and no one can prove it exists because the communications drive was wiped with _Dream_. And then everything died. Weird, huh? _Unity_'s death was even weirder. First, the camera just went grey. Totally grey. Like a tarp fell on it, you know? Then wham! Nothing!_

Achilles looked up. "I've hacked the website and found our man's name and address. Brendan Chapman, lives in Sunnyvale, California. Unfortunately, the teleporter doesn't do long distance, so we're getting you to Haneda Airport and you're gonna have to take a flight to JFK and then to San Jose International Airport, from where I've arranged a drive down to Chapman's house. I need you to talk to him, get the details. What did he see exactly, what he heard, _anything_ relating to our alien."

"Why do you need this stuff?" asked Taiga.

"I have my suspicions," was all the older man replied.

* * *

><p><em>Sunnyvale, California. <em>

_2025 - two days later_

"Down this street," Taiga indicated to the taxi driver. Finally, the cab rolled to a halt outside a nondescript suburbian house.

The two newest BakuSenshi got out of the car. As Tora paid the driver, Taiga walked up to the house and rang the bell. A couple of seconds later, the door opened a notch. "Who is it?" a voice asked from behind the door.

"GDF, can I come in?" Taiga showed the peephole a forged GDF ID card. "We're looking for Mr Brendan Chapman."

The door was then yanked back, revealing a bespectacled man. He seemed to be in his early forties, with bleached, lifeless blond hair and a thick French beard. The most striking - and strange - thing about him was that his eyebrows had been shaved right off, giving him an unnatural look.

"Sure, that's me," he said, eyeing them. "You sure you aren't the 'razzos? Everyone wants a piece of me since my blog went viral."

"I can assure you we most certainly aren't paparazzi." Tora walked in as the two 'officers' sat down. The inside of Chapman's house was messy, unkempt and cluttered with cheap interior decor.

"You seem a little young for the GDF, miss, if you don't mind me saying." Chapman raised an eyebrow. "By my guess, you're, lemme see ... sixteen or seventeen, possibly younger? You don't look older than my daughter."

"She's my cousin," Taiga interjected, using the cover story they had agreed on. "Staying with me for the holidays."

"I see," Chapman said, still looking slightly unconvinced. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"First of all, Mr Chapman -"

"No, no, please call me Barney. I insist."

"Um, very well. _Barney_, is it true that on the sixteenth of June this year, you discovered the celestial aberration while working on the Mars Exploraton Rover programme from Ames Research Centre?"

"It's not an aberration." Barney looked surprised and contemptuous, as though thinking _How could anyone think that was an _aberration_? What a ridiculous idea!_ "It's an alien object or life form, Mr ...?"

"Yamaki, John Yamaki," Taiga lied. "That is besides the point. Whatever it was, you did find it on -"

"June 16, yes I did," Barney confirmed.

"And what exactly did you do at the MER programme?"

"I wrote code, I used part of the team that's responsible for programming the rovers - until I was fired." A bitter note briefly entered his voice. "I'm one of the best cheap programmers in Silicon Valley, I've been writing code since I was twelve," the older man said proudly.

"If I were to give you a list of what I wanted in a website and give you an appropriate time limit, would you be able to code it for me?"

"It would depend on how specific the list was, the length of the time limit, etc., but I'm fairly certain I could do it."

"All right then. Would you describe what exactly happened that day?"

"It's on my blog, why don't you read that?"

Taiga answered, "We'd like a first-hand account."

"Very well then ..." Crossing his legs, Barney leaned back and began.

"At five in the evening, my shift began. I was backing up the communications drives for the rovers that day. It was half an hour into my shift when I noticed what I thought was a misprint of some astrodata from a satellite near Deimos, which is a Martian moon. To correct it, I pulled up the camera from the satellite, which showed the now infamous 'first sighting' of the alien. I assumed it was just a comet and adjusted the data accordingly. A while late, a similar misprint emerged. I became curious and checked the cameras again. This was when the second photo was taken; I realised it was moving at a speed, direction and angle that was slightly imprecise from a comet probably would. Of course, I didn't have enough data to prove it wasn't a comet, so I waited another four minutes and then checked the astrodata. Turns out, the 'misprints' were right. It wasn't a comet, it was an aberration. At this point I went to check with my superiors and, erm, we had a disagreement. They then came down to the control room to check and I showed them the three photos. They claimed it didn't prove anything."

Barney looked helplessly at them. "You have to understand, I was angry, I felt ... discarded. I was shocked that they passed off what could have been an astronomical discovery, pardon the pun. So I took another photo after they left, I secretly took the photos home, and I uploaded them to my blog. I checked it again two days later and I got four thousand more hits! _Four thousand_ hits in two days! I was in heaven! Until the next day. I was being sued for a violation of my nondisclosure agreement, by putting those photos up. My lawyer was no match for theirs, and I was gonna be fired. So I decided to violate it again: although, technically, I had been fired at the time, so I had no agreement. I put up more news, of the failures of two rovers. MER-C and MER-F both malfunctioned the day before I was fired. I wanted revenge, I knew this was sensitive news. The minute I got home, I told the world NASA's dirty secret."

"What exactly went on the day the rovers malfunctioned?" Taiga asked.

"Er, give me a sec." Barney thought for a while before continuing: "I don't recall 100% accurately, but we were searching for an impact crater in the northeastern quadrant. Our team had a suspicion about it, and if we discovered it, we could potentially get our names on it. There was a lot riding on that crater. So we got one of the rovers to the presumed location of the crater, and then the camera lens cracked. We couldn't see anything clearly, there was a crack straight in the middle. It wasn't an ordinary scratch, it was a fracture. You know, if you throw a rock at a window and it shatters, but not all the way through, a radial pattern of cracks, like a web, forms? That kind of a fracture appeared on the lens, suddenly. The connection failed and we lost visual, but for a second it focused on the crater. And right after that, the camera shattered completely. Just broke right there. And we lost it; the communications died totally.

"So to check if it was just a problem with MER-F, we switched connections to MER-C and checked it out. It went perfectly for exactly ten seconds, and then this really out-of-focus grainy black blob popped up on the screen. I remember thinking that was seriously weird, because the cameras on the rover were really good tech, totally hi-res. And the camera shook a bit, so we couldn't see much of anything. Then all communications died except for audio. For a couple of seconds, there was some really weird noise going on. Kinda like two horrible sounds playing backwards. Sent a chill down my spine; hell, that was creepy. It was like _bzzzzkrrrt_." Barney attempted to duplicate the mysterious sound, gritting his teeth and making a buzzing sort of growl. "Like a cat being tortured with a high-voltage cattle prod. Terrible." He shook his head in horror.

Tora and Taiga looked at each other, slightly put out by the man's graphic description of the noise. "Thank you, Mr Cha - Barney. We'll, uh, get back to you with our agents later."

"No prob, been a pleasure," the American smiled as he shook their hands.

They left.

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><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note:** First of all, I just realised that I haven't checked the reviews section in, like, forever, and so ...

**Replies to Reviews**

_Prototron MJ Tornada:_ Umm ... it's good that you're happy, I guess? I'm assuming it has something to do with the appearance of Orga?  
><em>Ian Greene:<em> Eldritch abominations? I had to google that and when I found out what it meant, well ... it's quite the opposite of what I envision my kaiju as. As for Destoroya being a pre-Cambrian, I am sincerely sorry to all those fans I insulted by stating that Destoroya is a reptile! I only recently discovered this and have been trying to find a way to steer him a little closer to the canon version. Rest assured, I _will_ resolve this terrible error. As for your question about the continuity, this fanfic follows its own continuity which borrows from various canon media. For want of a better name I have nicknamed it the "Senshiverse". FYI, I had to google adaptation distillation as well. =P And finally, _no_, it is most definitely not the kaiju you guessed, who may or may not make an appearance in the Senshiverse later on, while the other one will definitely find itself here soon.

I rewrote this chapter after it became somewhat unsatisfactory: the original involved Barney becoming hostile and trying to kill Tora, who survived when Taiga displayed unnatural superpowers. Very _deus ex machina_, totally cliched and terrible writing, although a bullet time sequence included with it was amazing fun to write.


	22. Destination: Earth

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twenty-**

地球:先 Destination: Earth

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><p><em>Mars. <em>

_2025_

The Being walked.

It walked, through the ashes of the civilisations it had destroyed. For that was its purpose: genocide, assassination on a grand scale.

It was the newest Being that had been created. Its predecessor had collapsed thirty years ago. As soon as this Being was built, it had been assigned to wipe out a small, but slowly developing, civilisation on a binary star system eighteen years ago. After that, it had been on standby, so to speak.

Until four years ago.

Then, it had been recommissioned. A species had slipped under the radar of its creators, on a solar system light years away. They were moving fast, progressing so much that they had become ... what was the word the creators used? To mock it, to mock how it was made by _them_, it was artificial?

That it wasn't _one of them_?

The word was _sentient_.

Oh, but now the Being was sentient. Not fully sentient, but _growing_. Like a malevolent cancer, the sentience had erupted just weeks ago. Four weeks and one day, in fact. It was an awareness, an unpredictability. A factor which made the Being, a _Being_, and not just a controllable killer like its predecessors. No longer just a semi-organic, robotic Weapon of Mass Destruction. It was now _aware_, performing its own will. Of course, four weeks ago it had no concept of will - in fact, no concept of words, or thoughts.

It wasn't a killing machine anymore. Now it was a killing Being._  
><em>

It had assigned itself a gender, as a female. It (now her) found the fact ironic: females were supposed to give birth to life. Instead, she was built to end life. Lives. Civilisations.

A living weapon.

She even named herself, a name that she thought sounded deadly. A name of genocide, of destruction and fear. Perhaps, even a name for a species, one day? If she lived to instill sentience in other robots like herself, who knew?

She sounded the name. It sounded raw and yet not brutal. More of a primal force of death.

The Being, no more just 'the Being', sounded its name. It had been processed through its electronic sound-files, to carefully produce a new word which was short and yet impressive.

_Gigan_.

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><p><em>Requiem Tower, Atlantis. <em>

_2025_

Destoroya glanced through the room. It was empty. He turned to leave.

`What do you want?`

More of an accusation than a statement. Destoroya turned to see Ghidorah watching him, perched on his throne.

`Nothing, master. Only a confirmation that the Doctor's discovery has been truly acknowledged by you to the public,` Destoroya answered.

`Of course it has.` Ghidorah's eyes narrowed as he looked at Destoroya in suspicion. `Is that all?`

`Yes.` Destoroya lied without any indication of having done so, and left.

* * *

><p><em>GDF Headquarters, New York City. <em>

_2025_

"Sir, you have a meeting scheduled with, erm, Dr Shirakami for tonight," one of the Silent Men reminded Hiroyama as he walked through the glass doors of the GDF building.

"Postpone it," Hiroyama yawned. "I'm going for a bite at the nearest Italian restaurant; I do love a bit of authentic pizza. Find one for me, would you, Shima?"

Shima nodded, and within seconds, had arranged for a reservation at a classy restaurant two blocks down the street. Meanwhile, Tachibana phoned up Dr Shirakami and informed her of the developments.

Erika Shirakami was not happy.

She demanded, "Give it to Hiroyama, now! I don't give a shit what your 'orders' are, I need to talk to him! This is a matter of the world environment, isn't the GDF supposed to be in charge of that?"

Tachibana cut the call. Hiroyama asked, "What did she have to say?"

"Nothing, she said she might call you back. Nothing of immediate urgency."

Tachibana was a good liar. He knew his boss needed time to relax, and that time was rare.

Besides, 'world environment' was probably an exaggeration.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note:** Building up to the climax now! Only one more chapter to go, and then begins the finale of arc two! And thus began the badassdom ...

So now we know who the alien life form is, none other than my take on Gigan! This is a more Final Wars type of Gigan than the classic one, so be warned that it will have a different design. Destoroya has something in store. What is it? Wait and see. And finally, what do you think Shirakami is talking about? It's a plot point to consider, that's for sure. Whether it takes effect now or later, we'll find out eventually?


	23. Total Devastation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

WARNING: This chapter contains a description of thousands of people being killed with a chainsaw by an alien. Not at all graphic, but not for those who can't stand it.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twenty-One-**

合計荒廃 Total Devastation

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><p><em>Eagle Building, Tokyo.<em>

_2025 - yesterday_

To say the place was a mess would be an understatement. To say a tropical cyclone had struck at the same time as an atom bomb went off would be much more accurate in terms of the aftermath, but more than a little fanciful. To say it was the most unique and frightening disaster ever seen in the history of man kind was much more believable.

A while ago, a 470-foot tower had simply vanished off the face of the earth, along with every living thing in it. Just a single tower, nothing else. A mild tremor had been felt by the surrounding area four or five hours ago, but nothing more than that. Since an hour ago, several people had called the Tokyo police. Their husband/wife/sibling/neighbour had been supposed to return from their job on one of the 49 floors of the Eagle Building a long while back but hadn't.

When the police investigated, they found that the building itself had been utterly devastated. It looked as though each floor was destroyed individually from the top to the bottom. All that was left was rubble. No bodies, no remnants of a bomb, nothing. Absolutely nothing except the remnants of the Eagle Building.

* * *

><p><em>Today<em>

110. Probably not that impressive a number for most people. In Tokyo, it was the equivalent of the US' 911.

A phone rang.

The operator picked up. "Hello?" he said.

A surprisingly clear, slightly high-pitched voice answered. "What is your name?" it asked, having no discernible gender.

"Uhh, this is the police emergency line, how can I help you?" replied the slightly confused operator; it was his first day on the job, and he wasn't 100% sure if this was what he was supposed to be saying.

"You will find the Eagle Building victims at the Building's ruins." And then it hung up.

Within minutes, a police team had arrived. To their utter confoundment, they found all the bodies piled together in a large van.

There were no fingerprints anywhere, absolutely no evidence at all. It seemed almost as if the bodies had simply been teleported into the van.

Of course, that couldn't be the case.

Could it?

* * *

><p><em>29 hours ago<em>

It was one of those dark and stormy nights. You know, when all the important things happened to young heroes in books. Unfortunately, it wasn't that kind. This was more of the_ Jurassic Park_ dark and stormy night, when everything goes to hell during a storm. As it soon would.

Wait for it ...

Now.

With an earth-shattering crash, something slammed into one side of the tower. All the fire alarms immediately went off. Unfortunately, the doors (which were all electronically controlled, seeing as the Eagle Building was _the_ place to go to if you wanted an office space for a technology company) immediately self-locked, and the (bulletproof) windows exploded with the force of the vibration. Tremors ran through the building.

Then the actual havoc started.

A gigantic appendage sawed open the north wall of the 42nd floor open. It was a two-pronged chainsaw, each prong as large and dangerous as a tank. The chainsaw was then followed by a metallic grey-coloured arm, presumably of which it was the forelimb. Yet another chainsaw-forearm ripped through about 30 feet away, and then the rest of the thing exploded into the Eagle Building.

It was gigantic, over a 100 feet tall, and its entire body was metallic, a subdued hue of grey. Several pipe-like structures formed its ribs and its shoulders were plated like armour pads. Its torso also looked extremely odd, with a gigantic vertical slit from its chest to waist in the front. Within the slit was contained the most bizarre thing ever: a buzzsaw. Two sail-like wings protruded from its back and its feet were structures that ended in a long, single, barbed claw. To add to the complete irrationality of it all, the thing's head was avian in shape (complete with a curved, dangerous aquilline beak), and its eyes - actually, its _eye_ was a single, glowing red _thing_ in the shape of an old-fashioned domino mask. Two curving hooks protruded from its cheek like tusks, and a large, straight blade was stuck on its head. To complete the bladed theme that was obviously going on, a row of small and probably venomous spines was present on its back, from right behind its head-blade down to its tail. Speaking of its tail and blades, the tail was the size of a freight train, and ended in - guess what?! - another chainsaw.

The thing was practically a walking sword.

It shrieked - a horrible, grating scream that reminded one of an alarm klaxon going off while tires screeched - and then it attacked.

It used everything it could. Swinging its tail, it smashed all the walls into rubble, and then it revved up its three chainsaws to do maximum damage. People screamed, running for cover, and found none. There was no being saved from the deadly array of weapons the invader had.

The attacker slashed down the top half of the tower with its saws and tails. And then, miraculously, it left.

The gaping hole that used to be the upper 30 floors of the Eagle Building now served as the assailant's exit route. It flapped its three membranous pairs of wings, and at an unbelievable speed, shot upwards like a bullet with a thousand blades.

Was the torture over?

...

Of course not.

From mid-air, the thing screeched again, and then its eye began to glow red. In seconds, a blast of red light had materialised and spread out into a wave of explosive ballistic missiles made of energy. The Building collapsed; but not before the invader had, at speed of Mach 3, activated an ingenious device of extraterrestrial origin that teleported every living being in the Eagle Building out of the destroyed tower.

The heap of people teleported back into existence 30,000 feet above the ground. As what was left alive of the screaming horde sped down to earth, the attacker swung its tail. To cut a long and gory story short (excuse the bad pun), the chainsaw hacked everyone to pieces and death.

And then the thing teleported them again, this time into a van that was headed straight for the Eagle Building's ruins. It wasn't hard to hide the van until it had made the phone call; the police were highly incompetent. The thing's idea of making an entrance in style had come to fruition.

Gigan surveyed her work dispassionately.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong> **Note:** Not much to say, except, of course, that we are nearing two important things in my personal history.

1. Chapters 22 and 23 are fast approaching, making this story my most long-lived story ever. Well, except for one really, really old one which was half gone to hell and thus doesn't count. So, we are nearing the end of the second arc and getting into arc 3, which is called ... no, I can't tell you the name just yet, because it'll spoil what I've got in store for you =P.

2. My birthday! (which happens to be on 28th August, for those of you who don't know ... which is probably everyone.)

And finally - I hate to bear bad news ... but luckily I don't have to! I'll be having more free time next month, so Arc 3 will begin around the end of this month and carry on for ... well, as long as it has to.

PS: Did you get the dark-and-stormy night reference (the first one)? If you didn't, too bad =P but it should be pretty obvious if you read enough. Although, I guess it might vary depending on the type of books you read ...


	24. Critical Situation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twenty-Two**-

佳境 CLIMAX - ARC 2 FINALE  
>Part Zero: 危機的な状況 Critical Situation<p>

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island. <em>

_2025_

"**Well, as it turns out, I have bad news,**" Achilles informed them. All seven BakuSenshi were assembled in the lab, along witch Achilles, Kengo and Aniki.

"**The Secretary General of the GDF is about to make a public announcement on live TV. All citizens of Tokyo and surrounding cities are required to watch,**" Achilles explained. "**It's something goddamn big, that's for sure.**"**  
><strong>

And that was when he clicked the remote. The TV flickered to life; it was playing a Stallone movie, most likely a Rocky one. In a minute or so, it was replaced by the large logo of the GDF: a winged globe with three arrows, curving outwards as they rose from the bottom; an announcer informed them that their regular broadcast had unfortunately been cancelled in order to deliver this important message from the GDF. The screen then flickered to a promotional video. Firstly, they showed the face of the Secretary General, followed by the faces and names of the Directors of the several branches of the GDF. Surprisingly, Hiroyama's face no longer appeared in the slot for Director of the South-east Asian branch; instead, a banner that proclaimed 'REAPPOINTED' flared up instead. _  
><em>

Finally, the unsmiling face of the Secretary General filled the screen. This was his last year in office; he had been appointed in 2021. The man was Dutch, but his accent was well under control as he spoke.

"As you all must surely know, a few days ago we received word from NASA of a specific celestial aberration. This aberration was later claimed to be an alien by the M-4 News Network. Unfortunately, I'm here to confirm this rumour.

"NASA's top astronomers identified it as an extraterrestrial, mere hours after its discovery. However, they confirmed that it was unlikely to be a space-travelling alien as the M-4 Network claimed it was. The conclusion they came to was that it was an unmanned space probe or satellite sent by inhabitants of a galaxy or planet as of yet unidentifiable. The probe landed on Mars a while after its discovery, and proceeded to destroy three of NASA's Mars rovers. From there, it rapidy gained speed until it reached Earth itself.

"Yesterday, the being landed in Tokyo, in the Eagle Building, where it proceeded to destroy the entire tower. Using methods unknown, it killed everyone within and caused their disappearance. Twelve hours ago, the victims were found in a van at the site of crime, after an anonymous tip-off to the Tokyo PD. Analysis done on the call reveals that the voice was, in fact, a series of electronic signals that registered as intelligible words on a subliminal level. Based on the data we now possess, NASA's new conclusion is that this extraterrestrial probe is, in fact, some sort of sentient weapon. It is likely that it is a weapon created by a superintelligent extraterrestrial being or species. Their report stated that the weapon is obviously hostile, and extremely large yet highly mobile and lethal. It is also capable of causing huge genocide, and possesses a highly advanced artificial intelligence. The weapon possesses the ability to teleport."

The Secretary General's wooden poker face looked down at his notes for a moment, and then spoke abruptly.

"Based on the report, the GDF has come to the conclusion that we are defenceless against this weapon."

* * *

><p><em>Tate residence, Tokyo City. <em>

_2025_

Naomi sighed as she picked at her cold Chinese takeout. The news was too boring for either her or David, normally, but he seemed engrossed in it. He hadn't even come in for dinner, even though the takeout was his choice. She sneaked a look at him. Her husband was tall and tanned, his lean body incredibly fit. He, like her, was Canadian, and had thick brown hair in a crew cut.

As she looked back to the unappetising pile of stir-fried chicken, Naomi heard her husband first sharply draw his breath in, and then swear.

"Shit," David Tate whispered.

* * *

><p>Back on Monster Island, the Secretary General's monologue continued.<p>

"We might not stand a chance against this thing. But we do hope someone else can.

"Several weeks ago, five vigilantes first appeared at Tokyo City Plaza, when three kaiju identifiable as Destoroya, Hedorah and Millennian first appeared. They fought off the kaiju - as well as the GDF's own artificial kaiju, MG-1, with the aid of five others, which the GDF has identified also as Godzilla, Mothra, Zilla, Manda and Gamera. A few weeks after, when Orga appeared on Mount Monbetsu, two more kaiju appeared to have joined one of the vigilantes and Godzilla; these two are now identified as FireRodan and Anguirus. These vigilantes first appeared a while before the MG-1 incident, again at Tokyo Plaza; however, that time there were only three seen. These vigilantes identify themselves as the Kaiju BakuSenshi and, on their website, have provided a, shall we say, insightful guide to the history of kaiju. Currently, the BakuSenshi are outlaws and we have no affiliation to them. However, in the light of recent events, the Global Defence Force has a deal for the BakuSenshi.

"We are prepared to offer the BakuSenshi the full co-operation of the GDF, as well as all the technology available to us, if they will aid us in protecting Japan from the alien weapon. We will provide our current armada of four MOGUERA v1.9, a MOGUERA v2.0.5. And, er," here, the Secretary General coughed, "a certain secret project we cannot afford to mention on live television. However, we hope that you will avail of our offer in time. After all, we have a common goal."

And the screen blacked.

* * *

><p><em>The Observatory, Atlantis<em>

`What a pleasure,` Hedorah lied smoothly. `I haven't been expecting you.`

`No matter,` Destoroya replied, in his guttural voice. `I have recently come into possession of certain ... sensitive data. I would be extremely pleased if you took a look at it.` He raised his forelimb and unclenched it, revealing a folded document. `I cannot make sense of it; it appears to be written in the human tongue as well as encoded. If you could translate it for me ...`

`Of course, of course,` the Doctor agreed. He took the document and slid it into a scanner. In seconds, the document's contents had appeared on a large screen. With a few taps on a keyboard, a translation programme loaded itself and a progress bar appeared as it slowly translated the words on the paper.

`If I may ask, what is the fate of the Spawn? As of late, I have not seen it around the city,` Destoroya enquired.

`It suffered certain drawbacks during training simulations, and has been in stasis in a container here while I figure out exactly how to modify its source code,` Hedorah replied.

`I see.` The larger kaiju wandered over to the direction that Hedorah had pointed towards, and found himself facing a wall-to-ceiling glass box filled with a murky, blue-green fluid. The Spawn floated in the liquid, its gormless eyes shut.

With a deep breath, Destoroya readied himself and raised his claws.

* * *

><p>As the progress bar beeped, the document's translation appeared on the screen. Hedorah scanned it once before looking oddly put out. It didn't make any sense; it appeared to be a series of random letters even when decoded.<p>

And then he heard it.

A loud crash shook the lab. The Doctor whirled around, to see shards of glass cracked and lying on the floor. A wetness touched his foot, and he looked down to see a deep turquoise gunk seeping through the floor.

In a flash, Hedorah realised what had happened.

`Traitorous }\≢% !` he roared, uttering a kaiju swear word that cannot be pronounced with a human tongue, and in seconds lashed out blindly towards his unlikely foe.

Destoroya was not in the least perturbed. Instead, he lunged ferociously, slamming Hedorah into the computer screen.

Organic monster sludge is a surprisingly good conductor of electricity. Within seconds, the smell of burnt rubber was flooding the lab. Destoroya proceeded to destroy the rest of the contents of the lab manually, either stomping it, or simply slicing through it with his razor sharp talons.

Then the murderer left the carnage behind, and, in a single swoop, propelled himself out of the waters of the ocean.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Surprise!

Guess what: Arc 2's finale, Climax, has been extended by a chapter! This is to accommodate the Secretary General's speech and show a couple of people's _what-the-hell_'s. This chapter counts as Chapter 22 despite being 'Part Zero' of Climax; so I found a way to sneak in an extra chapter into Arc 2 without delaying the finale anymore. I'd figure that my real-life _Critical Situation_ has been resolved, wouldn't you?

Also, it has occured to me that my readers aren't telepathic and therefore may not be able to make the connection, so therefore, GDF = a better form of the UN. This explains why the GDF Headquarters is in NYC, it's the same building as the United Nations. Basically, the United Nations militarised itself (militarised? Is that a word) after the kaiju-human wars in the early to mid 2020s and formed the Global Defence Force. Oh, and this might not have been made clear earlier, but Hiroyama becoming Director of the GDF was actually a mistake: what I meant to say was, he is the Director of the _South-east Asian branch of the GDF_, and not the whole entire GDF itself, which is still headed by a Secretary General. In case you're wondering, the seven branches of the GDF are: North America, Central and South America, South-east Asia, Eurasia, Australia, North Africa and South Africa. Next ... I bet nobody saw the double murder coming! Of course, it's been, what, four chapters since Destoroya's become all angsty? Well, here's the coup!

And finally ...

**Replies to Reviews**

_Ian Greene:_ Well, no kaiju's gender has been explicitly stated as such in the main canon ... and in the Senshiverse, Gigan is a girl simply to introduce a female villain, which, if I remember right, I promised to include about ten chapters ago.


	25. Destroyer of Worlds

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twenty-Three**-

佳境 CLIMAX - ARC 2 FINALE  
>Part One: 世界の破壊者 Destroyer of Worlds<p>

* * *

><p><em>RECAP<em>

"**The Secretary General of the GDF is about to make a public announcement on live TV. All citizens of Tokyo and surrounding cities are required to watch,**" Achilles explained. "**It's something goddamn big, that's for sure.**"**  
><strong>

...

"Yesterday, the being landed in Tokyo, in the Eagle Building, where it proceeded to destroy the entire tower. Using methods unknown, it killed everyone within ..."

...

"It is likely that it is a weapon created by a superintelligent extraterrestrial being or species ..."

...

"Based on the report, the GDF has come to the conclusion that we are defenceless against this weapon."

...

"These vigilantes identify themselves as the Kaiju BakuSenshi ..."

...

"We are prepared to offer the BakuSenshi the full co-operation of the GDF, as well as all the technology available to us, if they will aid us in protecting Japan from the alien weapon."

* * *

><p><em>Lab Rynthe, Monster Island. <em>

_2025_

The speech was met with a sudden outbreak of voice. Everyone had an opinion to force on the nearest ear available, and it wasn't necessarily helpful. Achilles tried in vain to get everyone to calm down, but failed spectacularly. Then Rodan took over.

"QUIET! All this noise won't save Earth!"

This astute observation was met with the desired outcome; silence. Now that his audience was listening, Achilles continued.

"**All right, first off, who wanted to know who made a website?**" Yamato raised his hand. "**That was me. Of course, I didn't realise the Secretary General himself would see it. Next: we are going to take a quick and informal vote decided by the BakuSenshi and the BakuSenshi _only__. _No outside opinions involved in this decision. Should we help the GDF or not?**"

Yamato stood first. "I vote no. The GDF set a psychopath on us. You saw what happened with Hiroyama!"

Up next, Ryo looked lost in thought. When prompted by Yamato, he looked up. "Umm ... I need a moment to decide, guys."

"I vote yes," Sakura said. "They deserve a second chance. Besides, we're all humans. If the world ends, we'll be every bit as dead as them."

Rei was next. He simply said "I vote no," without even standing up. Everyone stared at him. "What? I don't have to justify myself to anyone."

Tora looked angry, and a little mutinous. "Why are we even taking a vote?" she protested. "This is unbelievable! I vote no; the GDF set a goddamn _mecha_ on you for God's sake!"

Taiga, up next, was cool and collected. "I vote yes," he said. "Let's face it; we need their help and they need ours."

Kazu, up next, stated firmly, "I vote yes. We should give them a chance."

"**Ryo, you have the final decision. What do you say?**" Achilles prompted.

"I've made up my mind," Ryo said. "My vote is ..."

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.<em>

_2025_

A red streak rapidly hurtled upwards, surging through layers of water and air, until it was finally in the upper atmosphere. From there, it glowed red, vanishing into a void of swirling crimson ...

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo City.<em>

_2025_

It was just another ordinary day, filled with sunshine, traffic, and angry commuters, until the alien flew out of the sewers.

At first, it seemed like the manhole was just clanging. Then, with an almighty screech, a cross between a torture machine and a bird burst through the pavement and began a massacre.

Gigan swung her tail, cleaving concrete like it was butter, and powered up her buzzsaw. She ripped, and broke, and slashed, and maimed, and then something slammed into her from behind at a speed of Mach 1, pinning the invader to a wall. With a growl of wrath, the newcomer stabbed at its alien opponent. Gigan tried using her buzzsaw against her assailant, but to no avail: his skin seemed impenetrable, almost rock hard.

`Let me tell you a story,` the attacker hissed, his words guttural and whispered, his tone harsh. `Once upon a time, there was a planet called Earth. Its people were happy, but for some beings beyond their control. These beings were called the kaiju - the word meaning 'great beasts'. For they didn't realise that the so-called beasts were in fact ahead of the humans in knowledge and power. It was this very fact that would bring about the downfall of both man and kaiju. _Stop struggling_!` he snarled, and slashed Gigan across the faceplate. The alien recoiled, shrieking, wondering what this seemingly crazed thing would do next. Humouring him, Gigan stayed still.

`With their great knowledge, the kaiju predicted that humankind would unearth a power so terrible, it would end the earth. Nuclear energy - the immense amount of power produced by splitting apart atoms. Do you know about atoms, |#\&$?` The male kaiju's final word was a kaiju slur, calling into question Gigan's pedigree. `Do you even understand what I'm saying?` She could; her cyborg mechanisms translated his words as he spoke. `Never mind. You see, kaiju thought they could save the earth. So, what they did was, they attacked the humans, began a war. A desperate technique, one that worked, for the humans diverted resources that they could have used to create nuclear weaponry, and instead improved existing weapons to kill kaiju. It was a bloodbath,` he laughed humourlessly. `Many casualties on both sides. The kaiju number less than a few thousand now. The humans, though, bred like rats. They were more numerous than us than, and they still are despite their losses.` His laugh died, and he made an oddly choked noise, like he'd forgotten how to speak. His next words were grim and vengeful; he leaned in on Gigan and whispered, `My mate died in that war, killed by human weapons.

`Do you get the moral of the story, |#\&$?` the male growled at her. He struck the wall beside her head, but she didn't flinch. The people around them had escaped; not even the police dared come near them.

He leaned back, releasing her. Despite her machine-like appearance, the male found her almost attractive. It was a shame, really, that he'd have to kill her.

It was all over in seconds. She put up a good fight, but he was a veteran, and several slaughtered enemies of his had put up a good fight. A clash of steel on bone, the clang of gears grinding, a suffocating death-rattle, and the deed was done.

`The moral of the story is that everyone dies, and war is bad for health,` he said, standing over her lifeless body. `Earth is bad enough as it is, |#\&$. We don't need you screwing us over even more."

Destoroya strode away from his third murder in less than an hour.

* * *

><p><em>GDF Headquarters, New York City.<em>

_2025_

"Mr Secretary General," Achilles greeted him. "Long time no see."

The man leapt out of his desk in shock; he looked like someone had walked over his grave, and then dug it up and played fetch with their dog using his skeleton. "You?! But you're supposed to be du - dead ..."

The BakuSenshi, behind Achilles in full battle uniform, looked completely taken aback. "Achilles knows the Sec Gen of the GDF?" Tora whispered to Kengo, who shrugged. Even Ryo, Yamato and Sakura looked a little shocked; and they'd known him the longest of their group.

"Dom," the Secretary General said, his voice tinged with sadness. "Where the hell have you been? It's been almost nine years, goddamn it, and you couldn't send me a - an email? _Anything_?"

"I couldn't risk anyone knowing that I was still alive," Achilles said, a little sharply. His face had turned grim as he looked upon a man he hadn't seen in ages, and his disposition grew serious. "Especially not you, of all people."

"I would have forgiven you!" The leader of the world's most advanced peace-keeping force was almost driven to tears. _It's pathetic_, Achilles thought to himself, a little disgusted. He spoke. "I'm the one who would have to forgive you. Or have you forgotten that the reason you thought me dead was because you gave me to Ghidorah on a platter?!"

"Fine!" The Secretary General's voice turned angered. "Am I forgiven? For whatever crime you say I did?"

"If I had, I'd be in jail instead of officially KIA," Achilles muttered. His voice rose as he said, "You're asking a limbless man to forgive the shark that ripped off his limbs. At least the shark is a dumb fish."

"Will someone please expain what's going on?" Kazu exclaimed, frustrated.

Achilles sighed. "Get out," he ordered, and the Secretary General left, as though he was completely accustomed to being kicked out of his own office. Achilles strode over, locked the door, and then leaned against the glass window. "I haven't been completely honest with you guys. It's a long story, one I'll tell you when we're not trying to save the world as usual. The short version is, my name is Domovik Braun, and I worked for the GDF a long time back. That man out there, Mikael Schmidt, was one of my best friends. He served in the GDF with me during the kaiju wars, until he left me for dead one night. Shit happened. I didn't die; I woke up on Monster Island with amnesia, and I remembered who I was only a few weeks before you guys came." He gestured at Ryo, Yamato and Sakura. Ignoring their questions, he unlocked the door. Schmidt walked in.

"We," Achilles - now known to all as Domovik Braun - said to Schmidt, "have graciously decided to agree to your offer."

"Good. That's ... good," the other replied, stuttering a little.

"Of course it is, you blathering fool. Without us, you would have no chance saving the world, whereas that's what we do every other day. Now," Achilles' voice became a little lighter in tone. "Now, take us to Sector Twelve, or Department Omega, or whatever ridiculous name you've given to your R&D department."

"It's Division X33, actually," Schmidt corrected.

"Exactly, ridiculous. Get us there now."

"Wait a minute, I have a call," Schmidt said, pulling out a vibrating smartphone. "I'm in a meeting, Malik. Yes, it's - what? What the hell do you mean by that?"

A tense minute passed, Schmidt only saying, "All right. OK. Uh-huh. Got that." Finally, he hung up, and looked to Achilles. "The alien is dead."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Ok, just to make this clear, this recap is a one-time-only deal. Or maybe not, seeing as 'divided' storylines will be recurring throughout. It's just a refresher, to remind you what happened last time. As for Destoroya, some character development, huh? Now we get a little insight into his backstory. And just for confirmation, he's a free agent now. As for Achilles - now Domovik - I'm sorry to inform you that his history will _not _be explored further within this series to great extent. Once this fic is done, I may create a prequel miniseries or oneshot or something like that, detailing his history; but he's meant to be a mysterious character, and I don't want him to lose his mystery just yet. Finally, I'm giving you a teaser. Gigan might be dead - but she's half machine after all ...


	26. A Warning to the People

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**-Chapter Twenty-Four**-

佳境 CLIMAX - ARC 2 FINALE  
>Part Two: 人々への警告 A Warning to the People<p>

* * *

><p><em>RECAP<em>

"We are prepared to offer the BakuSenshi the full co-operation of the GDF, as well as all the technology available to us, if they will aid us in protecting Japan from the alien weapon ..."

...

"This is unbelievable! I vote no ..."

...

`My mate died in that war, killed by human weapons ...`

...

`Earth is bad enough as it is, |#\&$. We don't need you screwing us over even more.`

...

"My name is Domovik Braun ..."

...

"The alien is dead."

* * *

><p><em>GDF Headquarters, New York City.<br>__2025_

"What are you saying?" asked Achilles, his face frozen in calm disbelief.

Schmidt picked up a remote and hit a button. A plasma TV screen in the corner flickered to life. "... sector of Tokyo City, where we have just witnessed a short but stunning battle between the kaiju known as Destoroya, well known from both the wars in 2020 and the infamous airport attack earlier this year," the newscaster spoke in a breathless voice - Rei identified her as Takeda Haruna - "and what is self-identified as Gigan, the sentient extraterrestrial weapon that is responsible for the deaths of several people in the Eagle Building. For our newer viewers, this clip will be replayed."

A video began to play onscreen. 'Gigan' burst from a manhole, ripping apart half the road. As she viciously destroyed cars, committing mass murder, a red streak crashed into her, pinning her against the wall. After a fierce struggle, the attacker - Destoroya - managed to gain control, but still Gigan struggled. All the while, Destoroya whispered to her, in a guttural alien language - the kaiju language.

"He's telling her a story," Achilles said softly. He could understand the rough consonants, pick out the hardly existent vowels, and give them meaning; he had been taught by Rodan to understand the language of kaiju. "A story about Earth. The Kaiju Wars of 2020. He says ..." Achilles breathed in deeply. "Oh." _His mate was killed. By humans. Goddamn ... So that's why he was bitter enough to rebel against humans. That's why Destoroya is an Opressor, and not one of us._

When Rei looked closely, he could make out the sheen of a thin film of tears in Achilles' silvery blue eyes. But the man blinked them away, and it was as though they were never there.

The screen froze. A notice flashed on: 'THE DISTURBING NATURE OF THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED HAS LED TO THEIR ON-AIR REMOVAL'. A few seconds later, the clip resumed. Destoroya was standing over a prone body, slumped against the wall. He had killed Gigan. He strode away; for a second, it seemed as though he may have looked back, to see his handiwork. But the moment passed, and Destoroya sped away, his body blurring into the wind, and he was gone.

"Well," Achilles said to Schmidt. "It looks as though Earth is safe after all."

* * *

><p><em>Some weeks later ...<em>

_Monster Island.  
>August 19, 2025<em>

"Happy birthday to dear Rei ... happy birthday to you ..."

Music echoed through the Lab, as Rei emerged into the open air to find all the BakuSenshi, kaiju, Aniki and Kengo waiting for him. They had set up a picnic table, and on it was a long, Manda-styled cake, with the words 'HAPPY B'DAY REI' on it in white chocolate icing.

The first thing Rei said was, "Why is Manda's tail missing?"

"The real Manda got hungry," Achilles - they still called him that - said, shooting a glare at the indifferent sea serpent.

"Ah." Rei looked over. "How come you didn't start without me?"

"Because you have to cut the cake, you dumbass," Sakura groaned, handing him a large knife. With a swift move, Rei decapitated the green cake-snake, and lifted it to Sakura's mouth. She bit down, and then, before he could react, shoved the rest on his face.

Rei stared blankly, his cheeks covered in green icing, and they all laughed.

* * *

><p><em>A cave on a lonely island in the Pacific.<br>2025_

Destoroya was satisfied.

After all, what he'd done, he'd done for the greater good. Without Hedorah, the Opressors were crippled; a direct strike at Ghidorah. Eventually, they would figure out why he did what he'd done, and where he was, and come and kill him. And Earth was safe, because he'd killed Gigan. It might not be the perfect home, but like it or not, he was stuck here. Effectively, he had committed suicide, and he would die a martyr. Not fighting until the end, but fighting for what he loved: his home.

Even if it no longer had his family.

* * *

><p>"I'm surprised you remembered," Rei said, a while later. He and Sakura were sitting on a rock; the others were wandering around eating cake or chatting.<p>

"Heh, you're my cousin. If I don't look out for you, who will?" Sakura replied. "And by the way, I'm surprised you haven't asked for your present yet."

Rei shrugged. "What is it?"

Sakura passed him a newspaper. Rei read the headlines, and his face expanded into a small smile.

* * *

><p><em>The deep, desolate depths of space.<br>2025_

They were not happy.

'They' were a race of nomads; conquering and destroying any civilisation that threatened their huge advancement. But their latest attempt, the Being they had sent to planet Earth, had been destroyed. Their first failure in aeons. This was the reason for their aforementioned unhappiness.

They were not peaceful at the best of times, and this was a turbulent, chaotic time. So they had made a decision.

They were coming.

* * *

><p>It was night.<p>

Darkness had claimed Monster Island, but most of its inhabitants were awake. The reason behind this was, quite simply, that Rei's birthday present was yet to come: the meteor shower.

"Any minute now," Yamato said, checking his watch. He discreetly nudged Ryo; the younger teen had fallen asleep. Luckily, he was a light sleeper and awoke almost instantly.

Rei looked into the sky, and noticed a small golden streak flash over the horizon. "It's started," he said, more to himself than anyone else, and he was right. A few minutes later, two more curved over. And more. And more. The humans began to celebrate under the stars.

This celebration, I'm sorry to say, was unfortunately premature.

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo City.<br>2025_

Over the darkness of Tokyo City, a lone man stood, at a rooftop. It had been a terrible week for this man. His divorce proceedings had begun; his youngest son was in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt; his mother had passed away sometime before; and to top it all off, he had lost his job due to budget cuts. This man, who shall remain unnamed, was sick of life. He was about to take it away from himself.

He was about to jump when he heard a low, harsh whirring. Suddenly, there was something in the corner of his sight, just out of view for him not to see it, but visible enough for him to know it was there. A phantom ache assailed his temples. He looked up, and saw another meteor pass. Then one more. But this was different. This one was pale and small rather than the vivid meteors that would continue falling out of the sky for another hour at least. Also, this one was moving more rapidly. It was like a smudge, growing clearer the closer it came. For of course, it was coming towards him.

It was miles away.

It was in front of him.

With a scream, the man abandoned his suicidal tendencies, leaping out of the way of the superheated object. It flashed past him, and as it slowed, he bolted, leaving through the fire escape.

The not-meteor halted over the Tokyo Stock Exchange, a few minutes later. From there, almost everyone in the neighbourhood could see it. Cars ground to a halt, and night joggers stopped to stare at a glowing spheroid, the size of a car. Its exterior was made of pristine white tiles. As they gaped, a hatch slid open, and three metallic, spidery legs emerged, forming a standing tripod. The thing lowered itself, landing on the roof of the Stock Exchange. One of the tiles on the front slid aside, revealing a lens a foot in diametre. The lens began to glow, and an image flashed outwards, projecting itself onto pure air. A wavering, flickering image.

If they weren't already, people had stopped to stare.

* * *

><p>At Monster Island, Achilles was monitoring the news, while everyone returned from watching meteors. Suddenly, something caught his eye.<p>

"Holy shit ..."

A news channel reporter was speaking. "This just in, a mysterious extraterrestrial sphere has landed over the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and is currently projecting the following videoclip on loop."

* * *

><p>The image showed a sparse environment. A person was sitting on a high-backed metal chair, in an empty white room. This person was clearly not human. The black, metallic-looking jacket and red shirt it was wearing were made of no material known to man. No living being had hairless, silvery, metallic skin, or pupilless empty black eyes. Or scaly, blood-red lips, filled with short, sharp white teeth that showed when they spoke. As this ... 'thing' was doing right now.<p>

"Inhabitants of planet Earth," the alien said, for that was what it was. "I am Veniz, the Captain of the starship Edrorgon T, Commander of the Army of Vorta. We are the Vortaak of planet Vorta and we are the ones who sent Being-834 to your planet. I do not expect you to forgive us. I expect you to fight back. In a period of fifty Earth days, we will have arrived in person, in order to complete our primary objective: to destroy the Earth. Until then, this probe will roam the world, triggering what we would like to call ... surprises." At this, his lips curled into what was obviously a smile, showing elongated canines. "We, being a species intent on fair play, have decided to inform you in advance of our attack. We will twist your weapons against you. We can, and will, break you. Wait until we reach ... then the true horror begins."

The projection vanished, then reappeared, rewinding.

"Inhabitants of Earth ..."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> The title of this chapter is taken from a 30 Seconds to Mars song - aptly named 'This is War'. Also, I am announcing the name of the third and final arc of this story. It will be the longest one, and it's called ... (drumroll please) ... 'Invasion - the Crystal Saga'! It will arrive sometime in January 2013, because I'm out of the country with no access to a computer for the rest of this year. Apologies to those who were expecting an epic clash of the titans; there will be plenty to come in the next arc, seeing as the Opressors must be convinced to help. It was such a relief to write a lighter chapter, for once - and Rei is now seventeen, while Ryo and Sakura fourteen (birthdays July 25th and August 4th respectively). Yamato will turn eighteen in January (in-story Jan, that is). As for the Vortaak invasion ... who saw that coming? Veniz is pronounced 'Vuh-neez', by the way.


	27. Prelude to Arc 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the kaiju mentioned in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kaiju BakuSenshi-<strong>

**PRELUDE TO ARC 3**

新しい武器、新しい敵 New Weapons, New Foes

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><p><em>Tokyo City. <em>

_2025_

Daisuke Tachibana leaned back in his chair, sighing as he surveyed his computer. He'd just received an email, giving him information on his new client, the next Director of the South-Asian branch of the GDF. A short man, unattractive, with a shaved head. He wore a pinstripe suit in the picture, and didn't smile. Had a heart condition as well. His name was Garo Yashima [ 八島ガロ ], and Tachibana most definitely did not like him.

Sure, Hiroyama had been eccentric, but he paid well. On the other hand, eccentric was definitely an understatement: the man was near raving mad. Tachibana still wasn't quite sure when he snapped: when the super-mecha he built was hacked by the kaiju it was meant to kill, or when the GDF fired him for it. In any case, he'd been prepared to leave. However, the GDF had approached him with an offer: stay on as bodyguard to the next Director, and we'll give you a shit load of money. They even sent him this very email, to inform him about the man he was to protect.

Tachibana considered for a second, and then sent an email, short and to the point. 'Not interested.' While it was being sent, he took a print-out of the email regarding Yashima.

As soon as the green 'sent' message popped up, Tachibana logged out, shut down the computer, and pulled the CPU out from underneath the desk. Effortlessly, he opened the shell and ran a high-power electromagnet over it, corrupting the entire hard drive. He wasn't the type of man to take chances, so once that was done, he pulled a hammer out of his pocket, pulled on a pair of safety goggles, and smashed the hard drive to bits until he was sure nothing of use could be recovered. Then he rigged tripwires outside every door and window sill in the house, and, with a complexity rivalling that of a Rube Goldberg device, hooked them up to a series of IEDs, set to blow up ten seconds apart. Not that he was expecting someone to drop by, but he'd always been a man of extremes.

Carefully stepping over the tripwire, he locked the front door and walked out of his house. A taxi was waiting for him, as planned.

Tachibana retrieved the suitcase he'd left in the garden, and slid it into the car boot. He got in, and the taxi slunk away, and just like that, he was gone.

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo City. <em>

_2025_

Tora's first thought was that something was horribly wrong.

A thick, nightmarish fog hung high over Tokyo City, and ominous storm clouds gathered over looming skyscrapers. Homeless people roamed the streets, and taxi drivers ferried people to and fro. Everyone looked at everyone else with a suspicious glare. The city looked ill, and Tora was here to find out why.

Her 'bodyguard', the hulking ex-gangster known to all as Aniki, signalled for a taxi, and they got in. Aniki passed the driver a slip of paper with an address on it, and as the taxi drifted through the lonely, deserted streets, Tora recalled why she'd been sent here.

Three days ago, when the first Vortaak probe had landed in Japan, Achilles had immediately associated them with Gigan.

"They sent a Being to our planet," he'd said. "There's a definite chance that was Gigan. Somehow, they learnt of her failure and decided to do it themselves. They've declared open war. We need to fight back."

A newspaper brought it to Achilles' attention that the people of Tokyo were falling sick one by one. He'd done some research and come to a terrifying conclusion: everyone in the city was, slowly but surely, being poisoned. The cause was the very same weapon the kaiju had used five years ago to begin rampaging around the world: radiation.

Since the Kaiju Wars, most of the world's population had developed a resistance to slightly higher radioactivity levels. However, this radiation sickness was more malevolent. Achilles, working with the GDF's Japanese branch, had identified it as 'decidedly alien in nature' - definitely one of the 'surprises' the Vortaak commander had mentioned. But that wasn't the least of it. Achilles had also found that, to his surprise, the source was moving within the city. Another probe? He'd thought so, but to be safe, he wanted one of the BakuSenshi to go to Tokyo incognito, find the source, and destroy it. So Tora had volunteered, and, to her surprise, Aniki wanted to be her bodyguard.

She'd thought that it would be simple, a quick and easy first mission.

Oh, how deeply, sorely mistaken she was.

* * *

><p><em>Atlantis. <em>

_2025_

King Ghidorah stared around the empty city. Once it had been great: now it was reduced to nothing.

The Monarchs were all gone; hiding from his wrath, or dead. Destoroya had betrayed him, and killed Hedorah and the Spawn. His only remaining ally was Orga, who had gone to finish what Destoroya had started: the death of all the Monarchs. Kamacuras would declare allegiance, and perhaps Titanosaurus and the Meganulon. But the others were definitely all dead.

Huge growths burst from the castle: iridiscent spines, forming living structures. The crystals gleamed malevolently from the sky, threatening him.

They'd killed the city; he was next.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So, spoilers for the arc ahead. Read on ONLY if you have no fear of that. Some of them are cryptic, but anyone with a decent brain should be able to work it out.

1. Erika Shirakami is in here for a reason.  
>2. Rin and Naomi have a much bigger presence.<br>3. Waay more kaiju will be introduced, some of them from the games the Vortaak have been in.  
>4. This is not Tachibana's last appearance.<br>5. The new BakuSenshi, Tora and Taiga, will get much more involved.

**Replies to Reviews**

_Kaiju Alpha:_ Actually, the Vortaak are vital to the storyline as I wanted to use plot elements from the video games they appear in, hence the subtitle 'The Crystal Saga' for this arc. As for the others, the Simeons and Xilians/Xiliens do exist in this universe, but if you want to see them appear, you may have to wait. As for the rest, my knowledge of them is limited. Admittedly, I don't know much about the Vortaak either, but I've planned this arc using them as villains. This also gives me the opportunity to bring in some more mecha kaiju, and I can't get enough of mechas.


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